Miraculous: Legendary Defenders
by FanOfDeliciousFlavour
Summary: For millennia the Akuma empire, led by Hawkmoth, have been terrorizing the universe. The only thing strong enough to defeat them is the legendary Miraculous, a robot warrior composed of five animal mechas, piloted by five unique individuals known as the Paladins. Now, with the Akumas threatening Earth, five young heroes must unite to form Miraculous and save the galaxy.
1. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 1

**A/N - Hey guys, my name is Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour), and welcome to the story! This idea first popped into my head when I started thinking about the similarities between the Miraculous and Voltron characters. And so, this AU was born! In this story, the Miraculous characters take the place of the characters we know and love in the world of Voltron... with a few twists, of course.**

 **Anyways, I think I should let the story speak for itself.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14. Begin descent to Kerberos for rescue mission." Chloe announced, tightening her grip on the wheel and beginning to steer the ship towards the surface of the planet below.

"Ughhh," came Nino's voice from behind her. "Chloe, can't you keep this thing straight?" She couldn't help but smile at her teammate's predictable motion sickness.

"Oh, relax Nino, I'm simply getting a feel for the stick." She chided him. She grinned evilly as a thought came into her mind.

"I mean, it's not like I did this…" She yanked the stick to the side, making the ship jerk sharply to the left. "Or this!" The ship jerked to the right.

Nino groaned and clutched his stomach, before glaring angrily at the back of Chloe's head.

"Dude, unless you want to wipe public school lunch out of all the little nooks and crannies in this thing, you'd better knock it off, man!" He yelled.

"We've picked up a distress beacon!" Alya called out from the computer before Chloe could respond.

"Alright, look alive, losers!" Chloe said with a smile. "Nerd, track the coordinates."

"Yes ma'am." Alya replied, rolling her eyes before turning back to the computer.

Suddenly, the ship began to shake.

"Knock it off, Chloe, please!" Nino yelled.

"Hey, this one's on you, idiot." She replied, glancing at the screen. "We've got a hydraulic stabilizer out." Nino sighed and grabbed his computer as the ship continued to shake. He could feel the bile rising up in his throat.

"Oh no." He muttered aloud. Chloe glanced back at him and saw nausea written all over his features.

"Now hold on a second! Fix now, vomit later, got it?" She demanded.

"I lost contact," Alya told them. "The shaking is interfering with our sensors." Chloe groaned in frustration.

"Oh, come on, Nino!" She cried. "Just fix the stupid thing already, it can't _possibly_ be that hard!"

"It's not my fault," Nino replied, shakily rising from his chair and stumbling to the other side of the ship. "It's not responding."

Chloe looked back at the screen and noticed the green circle that marked their target.

"Well, looks like your services won't be needed after all, Nino." She told him, motioning towards the screen. "Our target is right there. Preparing for approach on visual."

"Uh, I don't think that's a good idea." Alya called. "Not with our current mechanical and… gastrointestinal issues." She shot a look at Nino, who was struggling to repair the ship while looking like he was about to vomit.

"Agreed."

"Oh, stop worrying, you sissies." Chloe brushed off their concerns. "This baby can take it, can't you sweetheart?" She purred at the ship.

The ship rumbled loudly in response, and Chloe's eyes widened.

"See, that was… a nod! Yes, she was nodding, definitely nodding. Alya, hail down to them and let them know that their ride is here… just fashionably late."

Alya unbuckled her seat belt and reached up to grab the microphone.

"Attention, lunar vessel - ah!" The ship shook again, and Alya tumbled to the ground.

"What on Earth are you doing? Buckle your belt, dummy!" Chloe scolded her. "And Nino, stop that shaking!"

"I'm trying, but - oh no." Chloe and Alya winced as his sentence was interrupted by the sound of retching.

"Attention, lunar vessel," Alya tried again. "This is Galaxy Garrison Rescue Craft One Victor Six Three Tango, coming in for landing and extraction..." She glared at Chloe. " _Against crew recommendations_."

"There is no time for your mutinous comments right now, nerd." Chloe scolded her. "We're going in." She began to steer the ship towards a large archway of ice.

"What are you doing? Watch out for that overhang!" Alya shouted. Chloe simply laughed.

"Oh, stop worrying. My first year in flight school, do you know what they called me? They called me The Tailor, because of how I _thread_ the _needle_." She announced with a smug grin. She accelerated the ship as they got closer to the arch.

"Come around, come around, come around!" She muttered under her breath as she guided them under the arch. She winced as she heard a crash, and red lights started flashing inside the cockpit.

"We lost a wing!" Nino yelled, staring at his screen in horror.

"Ugh. This is gonna mean a lot of homework." Chloe said with a resigned sigh. She closed her eyes as the ship crashed into the ground.

When she opened them, she was confronted with the painfully familiar letters flickering across the screen.

SIMULATION FAILED

"Nice work, _Tailor_." Alya muttered angrily. Chloe scowled at her in response as the door opened.

"Roll out, students!" Miss Bustier called from the doorway.

* * *

A few minutes later, Alya, Nino, and Chloe stood sheepishly in front of the class.

"Well, let's see if we can't use this complete failure as a lesson for the rest of you students." Miss Bustier said coldly. "Can anyone point out the mistakes that these three so-called cadets made in the simulation?"

"Uh, the engineer puked in the main gearbox." Alex volunteered. Miss Bustier narrowed her eyes at Nino, who wilted under the intensity of her gaze.

"Yes. As everyone knows, vomit is not an approved lubricant for engine systems. What else?"

"The comm spec removed her safety harness." Max stated calmly.

"Oh! Oh! The pilot crashed!" Kim announced enthusiastically.

"Correct." Miss Bustier said. " And worst of all, the whole jump, they were arguing with each other!" She turned to face the three embarrassed cadets. "If you're going to be this incompetent individually, you'd better at least be able to work as a team," She said quietly, before turning back to the class.

"Galaxy Garrison exists to turn young cadets like you into the next generation of elite astroexplorers, but these kinds of mental mistakes are exactly what cost the lives of the people on the Kerberos mission." Alya could feel herself growing more enraged at every word.

"That's not true, ma'am!" She shouted angrily.

"What did you say?" Miss Bustier looked at Alya with an expression that warned her that if she pushed any further, she was going to be in serious trouble. Chloe noticed this and quickly clapped a hand over Alya's mouth.

"Sorry ma'am, I believe the poor darling must have hit her head when she fell out of her chair," She said sweetly. "But point taken!" Miss Bustier just glared at her.

"Chloe, I hope I don't need to remind you that the only reason you're here is because the best pilot in your class was pulled out of school by his father after the failed Kerberos mission. But if you continue to make mistakes like this, I'm going to have to have a word with _your_ father. Whoever is next, head on into the simulation room."

* * *

 **A/N - Soooo what do you think? I know right now it's very similar to the first episode, but I promise that I have some great things in store for this fanfic, that are _very_ different from the plot of Voltron. And don't worry, our two main Miraculous characters will be appearing very soon.**

 **Hmm, I wonder which character was pulled out of school by his father?**

 **I hope you enjoyed this first chapter (even though it was rather boring), and I'll see you next time!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	2. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 2

**A/N - Hey guys, welcome back to the story! Thanks for sticking around for chapter two! I really hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"Lights out in five!" Miss Bustier called out as Chloe and Nino peered around the corner. "Everyone back to their dorms, now!" Chloe breathed a sigh of relief as Miss Bustier began walking in the opposite direction.

"We shouldn't be doing this." Nino whispered nervously from behind her. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you heard Miss Bustier's comments earlier. As much as I despise you idiots sometimes, she's right; we do need to bond as a team." She told him. "So we're going to grab Alya, hit the town, loosen up, maybe meet some cute boys-"

"Don't you mean girls, for me?" He interrupted her.

"I don't make assumptions, darling."

The lights went out, and Nino gulped.

"Okay, I'm… I'm just gonna say this here, right now, for the record: this is a bad idea." He said quietly as they began moving through the halls.

"You know, for someone in a space exploration program, you don't have much of a sense of adventure." She scoffed, flipping her blond ponytail over her shoulder. "I doubt _Alya_ would be very impressed with that attitude."

She smiled as Nino stiffened. She didn't know why, but that always hit a nerve with him.

"Fine," he muttered, angry that Chloe knew exactly how to play him. "Let's keep going."

They ducked around a corner as a teacher strolled past.

"L-5 North all clear." The teacher said into his walkie-talkie.

They were about to continue on when a door opened. Chloe grabbed Nino and yanked him back into their hiding spot.

Peeking around the corner, her eyes widened when she realized it was Alya. She glanced at Nino, who looked equally shocked. They watched as Alya took off down the hall.

"Now just where do you suppose _she_ is going?" Chloe mused.

Alya sat outside on the roof, trying to ignore the cold chill creeping up her spine as she carefully watched her equipment. Suddenly, she felt her headphones being lifted.

"You come up here to rock out?" Came an amused voice come from behind her.

She inhaled sharply and spun around to find Chloe and Nino gazing down at her.

"Oh! Chloe, Nino, uh… no. I'm just… looking at, you know, stars." She cast her eyes towards the ground. She could feel the weight Chloe's disbelieving stare.

"Uh huh, sure. Then what's all this equipment, hmm? It doesn't look like Garrison tech." Chloe asked skeptically.

"I built it." Alya replied proudly, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be _distracting_ them from her equipment.

" _You_ built _this?"_ Nino asked, surprised. He reached for her computer and she slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch that! And yes. With this thing, I can scan all the way to the edge of the solar system." Chloe raised an eyebrow.

"Is that right? All the way to Kerberos, perhaps?" She watched as Alya's shoulders slumped. "Come on, you go absolutely ballistic every time the instructors mention it. So, what's your deal?"

It was true. Every time their teachers mentioned the failed Kerberos mission, Alya would have an angry outburst, leaving Nino and Chloe frightened and confused.

Alya glared at Nino as he began to fiddle with her miniature satellite.

"Nino, this your second warning. _Knock it off._ " Nino backed off sheepishly.

"Look, nerd, if we're going to bond as a team, we can't have any secrets, got it?" Chloe demanded. Alya sighed, before relenting.

"Okay, fine. The world as you know it is about to change. The Kerberos mission wasn't lost because of some malfunction or crew mistake… Nino, I swear - " Alya started angrily, but Chloe interrupted her.

"Alya, focus. Nino, stop touching the girl's equipment." She ordered, snapping her fingers in front of the girl's face. Nino scowled at her. "Now please, continue."

"So, I've been scanning the system and picking up alien radio chatter." Nino gasped and Chloe's eyes widened with surprise.

"Whoa. What? Aliens? Dude, are you serious?" He asked, startled.

"Okay, so you're insane. That explains a lot." Chloe said with a laugh. Alya frowned.

"I'm serious," She insisted. "They keep repeating one word, "Miraculous." And tonight, it's going crazier than ever." Chloe snorted.

"Oh yeah? How crazy?"

Before Alya could answer, alarms began to blare all around them, and the loudspeaker crackled to life.

"Attention students," Came a voice. "This is not a drill. We are on lockdown. Security situation Zulu Niner. Repeat: all students are to remain in barracks until further notice."

Nino's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What's going…" He trailed off as his eyes were drawn to an object in the sky. "Is that a meteor? A very, very big meteor?" Alya's head snapped up, and she gasped as she saw where he was pointing.

Hurtling towards the Earth from above was a large object, encased in flames. Alya snatched up her binoculars and immediately focused on the object. She inhaled sharply as her suspicions were confirmed .

"It's a ship." Chloe yanked the binoculars away from Alya, determined to get a look at it too. Her eyes widened.

"Sweet holy manicures!" She exclaimed, and Alya shot her a judgemental look. "I can't believe what I'm seeing! That's… that's not one of our ships!"

"No," Alya replied quietly. "It's one of _theirs_."

"So wait," Nino finally said, still struggling to process what was happening. "There really are aliens out there?"

Alya and Chloe didn't bother to respond. They looked on silently as the ship crashed into the ground. Alya was the first to snap out of the trance.

"We've got to see that ship!" She declared, sprinting away, Chloe close on her heels.

"Come on, loser!" Chloe called to Nino, who just sighed and reluctantly began to follow.

 _Worst team-building exercise ever,_ he thought.

* * *

Chloe crouched on the edge of a cliff, peering through Alya's binoculars at the scene before her. The Garrison had gotten to the ship first, and had already set up a quarantine zone, with a large dome concealing the crash site from view.

"Ugh," Chloe groaned in frustration. "Now just what the heck is that thing?" Her eyes drifted to a rather attractive young soldier emerging from the dome. "And who the heck is _he?"_

"Chloe!" Alya exclaimed, slapping her teammate's arm. That snapped her out of her trance.

"Right, alien ship." She muttered. "But how on Earth are we supposed to get past all of those guards? I can't _possibly_ flirt with all of them at once! We'll never get a look at that ship!"

"Aw, man," Nino sighed, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?"

"Wait!" Alya called out, furiously typing on her computer. "They installed a video camera in the dome, if I can just… there! I grabbed its feed. Let's take a look!"

* * *

Marinette struggled to open her eyes. She felt dizzy and nauseous.

 _Where was she?_

When her vision cleared, she found two people in white hazmat suits peering down at her. When she tried to move, she realized she was strapped to a table.

Marinette began to panic as they moved closer. But wait a minute… these were _humans_. Did that mean she made it back to Earth? All of a sudden, bits and pieces of memories came rushing back.

"Hey," She called out, voice cracking. "What are you doing?"

"Calm down, Marinette," Said the person on her right. It sounded like… Miss Bustier? "We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests." Marinette's eyes widened.

"You have to listen to me!" She cried, struggling against her restraints. "They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!"

* * *

Chloe gasped.

"That's… that's Marinette! The pilot of the Kerberos mission!" Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, that girl was my worst enemy when we were in school together. But still, it was terrible when she disappeared. I had no one to exchange insults with!"

"I guess she's not dead in space after all." Nino remarked. Neither noticed Alya, who looked on with an awestruck expression.

"Marinette…" She whispered to herself. Could it really be that her best friend was back from the dead. "But where's the rest of the crew?"

* * *

"Do you know how long you've been gone?" Miss Bustier asked her calmly. Marinette groaned in frustration.

"I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time! Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way right now. They'll destroy us! We have to find the Miraculous!" She yelled. Why wouldn't they listen to her? The world was at stake, and they had strapped her to a table. She knew how it sounded, but shouldn't they at least give her a chance to explain?

"Marinette, you're delirious." Miss Bustier told her in a soothing voice. "I'm afraid we're going to have to put you under until we figure out what has happened."

"No!" Marinette cried out. She began thrashing in her restraints. "No no no! You can't put me under! There's no time! Let me go! Let me-" She felt a needle sink into her arm, and suddenly it was a struggle to keep her eyes open. Before she knew what was happening, she was drifting off to sleep.

* * *

"They didn't even ask about the rest of the crew!" Alya muttered, her eyes locked on the screen.

"What do they think they're doing?" Chloe demanded. "I may not be fond of her, but that girl is a legend! They're not even going to listen to her?"

"We have to get her out." Alya declared. Nino had been focused on the scene before him, but now his attention snapped back to his clearly insane teammates.

"Uh, I hate to be the voice of reason, _always,_ but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get past the guards?" He pointed out.

"Darling, that was _before_ we were properly motivated." Chloe explained. "We just have to think. And I know that's a challenge for you two, but do at least give it a shot. Could we tunnel in?"

"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs." Alya suggested. Nino stared at them in disbelief. They were really thinking about doing this?

"Or we could dress up as cooks, head back to the dorms, and sneak into the kitchen for a late night snack," He told them. Chloe just glared at him.

"...No. What we need is a distraction."

 _Boom._

They all jumped as they heard the sound of explosions. Looking beyond the dome, they noticed the fiery remnants of the bombs. Immediately, a swarm of guards rushed to their vehicles and headed towards the site of the explosion.

"Is… is that the aliens?" Nino stammered, heart racing. "Are they here? They got here so quick!"

"No, those explosions _were_ a distraction… for _him."_ Alya said, pointing at the dome. They watched as a small aircraft drifted in for a landing and a figure hopped out. Chloe zoomed in with the binoculars and her eyes widened.

"No way!" She sqeauled. "Oh, we have to get down there, now!" She took off down the hill and towards the dome.

"Who is it?" Nino called after her.

"It's Adrien!"

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry to leave it on a bit of a cliffhanger, but I really want to keep these chapters from getting too long. If every episode had its own chapter, it could be the length of an entire book! So I apologize if the spacing is weird, but that's the way I've decided to do it.**

 **Anyway, please leave a review with your thoughts and suggestions, and thanks again for reading!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavor)**


	3. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 3

**A/N - Sooooo, I was supposed to dedicate today to completing my summer work... but instead I ended up writing more fanfiction. Sorry that this chapter is fairly short, but I can't let myself procrastinate _too_ much. Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

"It's Adrien!"

"Who?" Alya asked, confused.

"Whoa, are you sure?" Nino asked, a grin spreading across his face.

"I would recognize that sexy figure anywhere!" Chloe called back over her shoulder. Forgetting his fear, Nino took off after her. He _had_ to see Adrien for himself.

"Wait, who's Adrien?" Alya shouted. Upon receiving no reply, she rolled her eyes and stumbled after them.

* * *

Adrien took a deep breath as the doors to the central room slid open.

 _Time to put those martial arts lessons to use._

Three teachers in hazmat suits stood leaning over a table, taking notes on clipboards. Hearing the doors open, the spun to face him.

"Hey!" One of them shouted as they rushed towards him. Adrien readied his fists.

One by one they attacked, and one by one they fell victim to Adrien's vicious uppercuts and roundhouse kicks.

Leaping over the unconscious bodies of his opponents, Adrien ran to the table. He inhaled sharply as he saw what it was that the teachers had been examining.

"Marinette?" He breathed softly, bringing a hand to her face. It couldn't be… but it was. The same dark hair, the same classic pigtails. The only difference was the troubled expression on her face, present even as she slept.

Shaking himself out of his trance, he grabbed his knife from his belt and quickly slashed at her restraints. Pulling her up from the table, he slung one of her arms over his shoulders. Marinette groaned quietly in her sleep.

"Adrien!" Came a voice. Looking up, he saw Chloe, Nino, and a girl he didn't know sprint into the room.

"Chloe, Nino… what are you doing here?" He asked, surprised.

"Helping you save Marinette, of course." Chloe told him. She placed Marinette's other arm around her shoulder, but not before giving the unconscious girl a disgusted look.

"Hey dude, long time no see." Nino greeted him with a smile. Adrien grinned. Though having Chloe here might be more of a nuisance than helpful, he was glad to see his best friend again. Alya just stared at them, confused. _Who was this guy?_

"Okay, why don't you guys get reacquainted later, because right now we need to go." She suggested.

"Good idea." Adrien agreed. Adjusting his grip on Marinette, they headed outside.

* * *

Nino peered through Alya's binoculars at the horde of military vehicles and soldiers headed back from the explosion sites.

"Dudes, they are coming back and they do not look happy. We've got to go." He told them. Looking over his shoulder, he spotted Chloe and Adrien carrying Marinette towards a small hoverbike, and he ran to catch up.

"Mind if we catch a ride with you, Adrien?" Nino asked.

"Of course," He replied warmly. "I'm not going to leave you guys here.

"Aw, that's my Adrikins," Chloe purred, tossing Marinette unceremoniously towards Alya as Adrien got behind the wheel. "Always so sweet."

Alya glared at her as she carefully pulled herself and Marinette onto the back part of the hoverbike, with Nino scrambling up after them.

"Is this thing going to be big enough for all of us?" She asked.

"Probably not," Adrien admitted, revving the engine. "But it's time to go."

With that, they took off into the air.

Looking back, Chloe noticed multiple vehicles chasing them. They were quickly gaining on them too.

"Can't this thing go any faster?" She whined.

"Not with how many people are on here." Adrien replied. Chloe sighed.

"Well, perhaps we could toss out some nonessential weight." She suggested, glancing at Alya, Nino, and Marinette. Adrien ignored her comment, keeping his eyes focused on his path. He could lose the teachers up here, but only if everyone cooperated.

"Everyone, lean left!" He called. They complied, and Nino watched with wide eyes as one car slammed into another.

"Aw, dude! Ms. Mendeleiev just wiped out Mr. Damocles!" He exclaimed, looking back at the wreckage. "Oh wait, they're both fine."

"Everyone, lean right!"

Alya stared down in horror as they jumped a wide chasm to the other side of the cliffs, taking out yet another car.

 _Only one left,_ Adrien thought.

"Uhh, guys," Nino said nervously. "Is that a cliff up ahead?" Chloe and Alya's heads snapped up, and they began screaming.

"Oh, no no no!" They yelled. Adrien grinned.

"Yep." He replied, before accelerating the bike and sending them over the edge of the cliff.

"What are you doing? You're going to kill us all!" Chloe shouted.

"Just trust me!" He called back to her. The very last second before hitting the ground, he yanked the wheel up and righted the hoverbike, and continued to zoom across the valley. Glancing back, they could see that the final vehicle had stopped at the edge of the cliff.

Adrien smiled.

 _Gotcha._

* * *

Marinette stood on a hill by the Agreste family cabin, staring into the distance. The warm sun, a cool breeze, and sand under her feet… it felt so good to be back on Earth. Even if she didn't quite understand how she had gotten here.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to find Adrien smiling at her.

"It's good to have you back." He told her warmly.

"It's good to be back." She replied, returning the smile. It was almost funny; before she went on the Kerberos mission, she could barely speak to Adrien without stuttering and making a fool out of herself. But now… so much had changed.

His smile melted into a look of concern.

"So what happened out there?" He asked her. "Where were you?"

"I wish I could tell you. My head is pretty scrambled." Marinette admitted. "I was on an alien ship, but somehow I escaped. It's all a blur." She looked up at him curiously. "How did you know to come save me when I crashed?" Adrien hesitated.

"You should come see this."

* * *

 **A/N - Again, I apologize that this chapter was so short. But hey, at least everyone's together now, right? And now things will get interesting...**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a review with your thoughts and suggestions, and I'll see you next time!**

 **~ Elizabeth**


	4. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 4

**A/N - Hey guys, and welcome back to the story! I'm so glad you've decided to stick around! I'd like to take a moment to reply to the lovely reviews people have left;**

 **Senza Luna - The way I have it set up, the paladins aren't _quite_ what it seems you think they are. You'll just have to wait and see ;)**

 **Mikkey234 - Dude, that's awesome! i can't believe you like three of the same fandoms as me! I hope you enjoy this as much as my Unfortunate Fairy Tale story.**

 **Resa - Haha, yep, the plan is to do the whole thing... even though it might take a _long_ time. As for Altean Tikki and Plagg... you'll see soon enough!**

 **Eeveecat1248 - I'm glad to provide this for you! (Btw, love the username.)**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

The group stared in awe at the wall, which was covered with… well, just about everything. Maps, diagrams, and photos were tacked up side by side, some with lines connecting them, some with notes doodled on them.

"What have you been working on?" Marinette asked Adrien in awe. He smiled, fighting to conceal a blush.

 _We might be getting invaded by aliens soon,_ he reminded himself. _Get a grip._

"I can't explain it, really." He admitted. "After father pulled me out of the Garrison, I was kind of lost and found myself drawn out to this place. It's like something… some energy was telling me to search. Luckily, my family already owned a small cabin out here, although I'm not entirely sure why."

"Search for what?" Marinette asked.

"Well, I didn't really know at the time… until I stumbled across this area." He pointed to an area of the map of the canyon which had been circled and been labeled 'energy source'. "It's an outcropping of giant boulders with these caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a giant bee and-"

"Wait a second, a giant _bee?_ " Chloe asked skeptically. "You can't be serious, that sounds utterly ridiculous." Adrien ignored her.

"Anyway, they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night." He turned to Marinette. "Then you showed up."

 _So that's how he knew to come rescue me,_ Marinette thought, before turning to the rest of the group.

"I should really thank you all for getting me out of there." She said graciously. Alya and Nino smiled, but Chloe just snorted.

"So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?" Alya asked, curious. Marinette thought for a moment, brows furrowed in concentration.

"I'm not sure," She said finally. "I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces." She was clearly frustrated by her inability to remember.

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but can we go back to the _aliens?"_ Nino chimed in nervously. "Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for _us?"_

"I can't really put it together," Marinette admitted with a sigh of frustration. "I remember the word 'Miraculous'. It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do."

The rest of the team murmured their assent. They were silent for a moment, until Nino cleared his throat.

"Um, well last night I _may_ have been rummaging through Alya's stuff and-"

"You were _what_ now?" Alya exclaimed. Nino's face grew red and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Uh, yeah, sorry. Well, anyway I started reading her diary and-"

"My diary?!" Alya's face was beginning to match the color of Marinette's jacket.

"...and I noticed that the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line." He finished.

"Frown who?" Adrien asked, confused.

"It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element, only, this element doesn't exist on Earth." Nino explained. "I thought it might be this Miraculous. And I think can build a machine to look for it, like a Miraculous Geiger counter." Chloe beamed at him.

"Nino, it looks like you have an ounce of intelligence after all!" She declared.

"Uhh, thanks?" He replied uneasily. "Anyway, the wavelength looks like this." He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. Straightening it out, he showed the group the graph, which depicted an uneven line. Adrien's eyes widened.

"Wait a second… give me that!" He snatched the paper from Nino's grasp and proceeded to hold it up against a picture of the canyon.

A perfect match.

They stood silent, looking out upon the canyon. In his hands Nino held a tracking device, of his own invention, while Alya carried the miniature satellite. Since he had mentioned her diary, the two could barely look at each other without blushing, but Alya still dutifully followed Nino as he led them through the canyon, eyes focused on his screen.

"I have to admit it, this is pretty freaky." Chloe commented as she, Adrien, and Marinette trailed behind Alya and Nino. Adrien nodded absently.

"What's up with them?" He asked, gesturing to Nino and Alya. Marinette shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe Alya had something embarrassing written in her diary? I know I would hate it if anyone got their hands on my diary… not that I have one!" She added hastily. Chloe just snorted.

"I can't believe you two are so dimwitted." She scolded them. "Can't you see what's going on?" They both blinked uncomprehendingly at her, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm getting a reading!" Nino called back to them, and they hurried to catch up. They found him at the mouth of a cave. After exchanging a few silent glances, they entered.

They were immediately captivated by what they found inside. All over the cave walls and ceiling were carvings depicting a bee, just as Adrien had described.

"Whoa." Alya breathed.

"You said it, sister." Chloe said, wandering over to the wall. As she brushed the dust from one of the bee carvings, she felt a strange sensation, a tugging in her gut. Suddenly, yellow light surged from the carving underneath her fingertips, illuminating the bee. She heard the gasps of astonishment from the others, and upon looking up realized that the rest of the carvings were glowing as well.

"They… they've never done that before." Adrien said, eyes wide.

A cracking noise could be heard from underneath their feet. Looking down, they could see the ground splitting open, glowing with the same yellow light as the carvings.

"Uh oh," Was all Chloe managed to say before the ground caved in and they fell.

* * *

They had hit the ground with a hard _thud._ As the others groaned on the floor, Chloe was the first to get to her feet, and what she saw made her jaw drop.

In front of her, behind what looked to be a force field of yellow light, was the bee. A huge, robotic bee. She had originally thought the idea of a giant bee to be ridiculous, but she had to admit… this thing looked badass. With black beady eyes and a stinger larger than her, the bee looked extremely dangerous, even as it perched on six legs in an awkward position. But Chloe didn't feel afraid at all. No, she felt... peace. Warmth. A strange sense of-

"Is this it? Is this the Miraculous?" Alya asked, struggling to her feet. Nino offered her a hand up, but she waved him off. Hurt flickered across his features.

"It must be." Marinette replied. She didn't hesitate to take Adrien's offer of a hand up, but never took her eyes off of the bee. As such, she didn't notice how his eyes lingered on her, and he reluctantly slid his hand from hers as she went to dust herself off.

"This is what has been causing all of the crazy energy out here." Adrien commented, walking towards it. "Looks like there's a force field around it." The rest of the group followed him.

Chloe felt the same tugging sensation in her gut. It pulled her forward, towards the mecha. It's large black eyes seemed to be staring into her soul.

"Does anyone get the feeling this is staring at them?" She asked. Feeling slightly foolish, she weaved in and out of the other group members, much to their annoyance, and still she felt its gaze rest on her.

"Um… no." Marinette replied, clearly judging her. Normally Chloe would've shot a glare at the other girl, but she was focused on the magnificent creature in front of her.

"Yeah… the eyes are _totally_ following me." She declared.

Adrien approached the forcefield cautiously, before placing a hand on it. Golden light rippled beneath his fingers.

"I wonder how we get through this." He muttered to himself.

"Maybe you just have to knock." Chloe replied, strolling up beside him. Raising her hand, she rapped on the forcefield twice.

For a moment, nothing happened. But then, the forcefield shattered.

They both jumped back as the ground beneath the bee started to glow. The eyes seemed to sparkle, and when Chloe met them with her own, the world went black.

* * *

In a blue sky, five animal mechas soared.

A ladybug.

A black cat.

A turtle.

A fox.

A bee.

They were magnificent; ginormous, powerful, and beautiful on their own. But then… then they came together.

And suddenly, they became one. One giant robot.

The ladybug became the head, wing sliding up to reveal a face.

The black cat became the right arm, mouth clutching a silver baton.

The turtle became the left arm, shell transforming into a shield.

The fox became the right leg, and the bee became the left leg.

All together they were… _Miraculous._

* * *

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm sorry that I am really bad at describing things, and for the rather cheesy ending... I know how I want the animal mechas and Miraculous to look in my head, but I have trouble putting it into words, and I'm terrible at drawing, so I can't provide an image. Hopefully you all have good imaginations!**

 **Thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you next time!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDelicious)**


	5. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 5

**A/N - Hey guys, welcome to the next chapter of Miraculous: Legendary Defenders! I know I _just_ posted a chapter, but I'm on vacation and have a ton of free time on my hands, so I decided to keep writing! I imagine you guys probably don't mind, right? **

**I do apologize for not having a specific update schedule, I know that bothers some people, but my schedule tends to be crazy. The best I can promise is to write and update whenever I can.**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - That's a very interesting theory! But my lips are sealed! You'll just have to wait and see!**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"Whoa." Alya breathed.

"Did everyone just see that?!" Chloe asked, clearly in shock.

"Miraculous is a robot… a huge, _awesome_ robot!" Nino practically sqeauled.

"And this thing is only one part of it!" Alya added. "I wonder where the rest of them are?"

"This is what they're looking for." Marinette said to herself.

"Incredible." Adrien said.

Suddenly, the bee began to move, bending its legs and bringing its head down towards them. Settling on the ground, the mouth opened, revealing a tunnel.

The group stood in silence for a moment.

"Well?" Chloe finally said. "What are you losers waiting around for?"

Without another word, she jogged into the mouth of the bee. The others exchanged looks.

"Are we really about to walk straight into the mouth of a giant robot bee?" Alya asked.

"Yep." Nino replied.

"I swear, this day could _not_ get any weirder."

* * *

Chloe's eyes lit up as she stumbled into what looked to be a cockpit. Her eyes roamed over the beautiful interior, which looked to be equipped with advanced technology, before settling on what was clearly a pilot's chair.

 _Oh, what the hell,_ she thought, before sitting down. Nothing happened, and she crossed her legs.

"Well, here we go-" She started but, was cut off as the chair suddenly shot forward, with her still in it. Suddenly, the cockpit lit up, control panels appearing in front of her as the rest of the group filed in. Looking up, she found that she was seeing _through_ the eyes of the bee on the screen.

"Whoa." Alya said. That seemed to be the only thing she was capable of saying as of late.

"Alright, lovely." Chloe grinned. "I like this thing already!"

"Uh, guys?" Nino cleared his throat. "I just feel the need to point out that we're in some kind of futuristic alien bee head right now. Just so we're all aware."

But Chloe wasn't listening. She felt the same strange sensation tug at her gut, only this time much stronger. There was a buzz, which sent vibrations throughout her body. And then there was… a feeling. A voice, but… not. Ideas came into her head, flowing into her from where her hands rested on the controls.

"Whoa, did you guys hear that?" She asked the group.

"Hear what?" Adrien asked, confused. To the group, it seemed like Chloe had just zoned out for a moment.

"I-I think it's talking to me." She replied hesitantly. She examined the control panel for a moment, before pressing a series of buttons. All of a sudden, the bee reared up its head and let out a loud buzz.

Chloe beamed. This was amazing! Ignoring the screams from her fellow group members, she decided it was time to see what this thing could do.

"Alright, I've got it." She murmured to herself. "Now let's try _this._ "

Grabbing the controls, she burst through the cavern wall into the open air. She sqeauled in delight as they did a flip in midair, thrusters activating right before they hit the ground. The took off again, soaring through the sky, and Chloe had never felt this free.

...except for the four pairs of hands clinging onto her, and the four voices screaming at her to stop.

"You are… the worst… pilot… _ever_!" Marinette screamed as they did another barrel roll.

* * *

"Now what on Earth is _that_?" Mrs. Bustier asked, staring at the sight before her through a pair of binoculars.

"Um, well, it appears to be a ginormous bee, ma'am." Her student Sabrina replied, pushing her glasses up her nose.

She wilted under the glare that Mrs. Bustier shot her.

* * *

"Isn't this just amazing?" Chloe sqeauled.

"Make it stop. Make it stop." Nino groaned from the back.

"I'm not making it do anything anymore," She told him. And it was true. Without her command, the bee was flying on its own. "It's like it's on autopilot."

All of a sudden, the bee angled towards the heavens, and sped up, bursting through the clouds and taking them higher than Chloe had ever gone before.

"Where are you going?" Adrien called to her. The fear was evident in his voice.

"I just _said_ it's on autopilot!" Chloe snapped. She listened for a moment. "It says that there's an alien ship approaching Earth. I think we're supposed to stop it!"

"What did it say, exactly?" Alya inquired. She was gripping tightly to the wall of the cockpit.

"Well, it's not like it's saying _words,_ " Chloe admitted. "More like feeding ideas into my brain… kind of." It was hard to describe, and Chloe had no desire to attempt an explanation at the moment.

"Well, if this thing is the weapon they're looking for, why don't we just, I don't know, give it to them?" Nino suggested. "Maybe they'll leave us alone. Sorry, bee. Nothing personal."

Marinette's head snapped up.

"You don't understand. These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path." She said desperately. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is _dead_." Silence fell in the cockpit.

"Oh," Nino finally said quietly. "Nevermind then."

They all fell quiet again as they broke through the atmosphere and found themselves in space. Everyone apart from Chloe pressed up against the windows, eyes wide as they stared at the millions of stars and their planet from up above.

No matter how different they might have been from each other, all of them had been part of the Garrison. All of them had dreamed of this moment; the moment they would finally leave Earth and see what the galaxy had to offer.

Nino and Alya were pressed shoulder to shoulder, and all of the former tension seemed to be lost as they both gazed outside. Then, for a brief moment, they locked eyes. Nino shot her a smile, and to his delight, Alya returned it. His smile stretched into a grin as his eyes were drawn back to the window.

Marinette just gave a soft, easy smile as she looked out of the window. To her, space was an old friend, one that she was glad to greet again. She looked down at the Earth, growing smaller as they flew further and further away, and thought that there was perhaps no other view that could compare to this.

Adrien clearly shared the same thought. He looked like a kid in a candy shop, eyes full of excitement. When his father had pulled him out of school, he had lost all hope of ever getting to be where he was right now. For so long he had wanted to escape, to get away from all of his earthly troubles, and now his dream was coming true.

And Chloe? Chloe just sat in the pilot's chair, a serene smile on her face; perhaps the first genuine smile that had graced her features for a while. Between the beauty of the sight before her, and the peaceful and warm sensation that came with piloting the bee, she felt calm and at home.

...until a huge alien ship emerged from the darkness, headed straight for them.

"Dude, is that really an alien ship?" Nino asked frantically.

"They found me." Marinette said quietly. Adrien glanced at her, concerned. He was about to ask if she was alright, when the ship start firing at them with purple beams.

"We've gotta get it out of here!" Alya shouted.

"Hang on!" Chloe replied, grabbing the controls.

 _Time to see if those flight lessons will pay off._

She wove in and out of the beams, accelerating past the ship until she was out of range. For now.

"Alright," She breathed. "Okay. I think I know what to do."

"Be careful, Chloe." Alya warned. "This isn't a simulator." Chloe laughed.

"Well, that's fortunate." She replied with a smile. "I always wreck the simulator. Let's try this." Zooming back towards the ship, she pressed a button which let loose a beam of yellow light from the mouth of the bee, wrecking almost the entire lower part of the alien ship, before zooming away again.

"Nice job, Chloe." Marinette commented appreciatively. Chloe smiled, forgetting for a moment that this was her rival.

"Alright team, I think it's time we get these losers away from our planet."

* * *

"Lord Hawkmoth, the escaped prisoner and her people found the bee." Stormy Weather reported. Hawmoth's figure could barely be made out on the screen, but as an Akuma, Stormy Weather would never doubt that her leader was present and listening.

"Follow that bee and alert all ships in the area to intercept." Hawkmoth replied. "Capturing that bee is your first and _only_ priority."

"Yes, your majesty." Stormy Weather replied with a bow, before turning to her crew. "Full power after the bee!"

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, I hope you liked this chapter! I decided to make all of the prominent galra soldiers and generals Akumas from the show, hence Stormy Weather. She was the Akuma in the first episode of Miraculous that I ever watched, so I thought it was appropriate to have her be the first Akuma to make an appearance in this fic!**

 **I sincerely hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review with your thoughts, predictions, and suggestions.**

 **I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	6. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 6

**A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! This chapter has got just a hint of Adrienette (Adrien/Marinette) in it... but don't worry, that will be explored further a little ways down the road.**

 **Eeveecat1248 - Haha, I'm glad you think so! I was hesitant to change the lions to the respective Miraculous animals because I thought it would be _completely_ ridiculous (of course it's a _little_ ridiculous), but I'm glad you like it!**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

"Oh no," Nino groaned.

"They're gaining on us." Alya warned Chloe, who was focused on piloting the bee. She frowned.

"It's strange. They aren't trying to shoot us anymore. They're just chasing us." She commented.

"Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good?" Nino asked, clearly fed up. "I am _not_ on board with this new direction, dudes."

Everyone ignored him.

"Where are we?" Adrien asked.

"Edge of the solar system." Marinette replied, looking out the window. "There's Kerberos."

Her chest tightened as she looked upon the planet. That was where she had been captured. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push down the feelings of fear and panic.

She felt a hand take hers.

 _Adrien._

Marinette opened her eyes to see him offer her an encouraging smile. Suddenly, she remembered why she had been so head over heels for this boy. Maybe-

"It takes months for our ships to get out this far," Alya commented, breaking Marinette out of her trance. Adrien's hand slipped out of hers. "We got out here in five seconds."

A burst of blue light drew their attention back to the front window.

"What is _that_?" Nino asked nervously. It looked to be some sort of portal… and the bee was headed straight towards it.

"Uh, this may seem crazy, but I think the bee wants us to go through there." Chloe told them. They were silent for a moment.

"Where does it go?" Alya asked hesitantly.

"I-I don't know." She admitted. Swallowing her pride, she turned to Marinette. "Marinette, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?"

Marinette looked surprised at Chloe's question, and considered it for a moment.

"Whatever's happening, the bee knows more than we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together." She replied. After exchanging a few quick glances with the rest of the team, the answer became clear. Alya even placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder, giving the other girl an encouraging smile.

"Alright," Chloe said with a smile. "Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow."

Closing her eyes, she guided the bee into the portal.

* * *

"Ugh," Nino groaned as they emerged from the portal.

"Again, Nino?" Chloe scolded him. The smell of vomit was already spreading throughout the cockpit.

"I'm just surprised it took this long." Alya remarked.

"I don't recognize any of these constellations." Marinette said, gazing out of the window at the unfamiliar territory. "We must be a long, long way from Earth."

Chloe's eyes remained focused on the screen in front of her, and she found that the bee was guiding her towards an Earth-like planet.

"The bee seems to want to go to this planet. I think… I think it's going home." She told the team. They entered the planet's atmosphere and began to descend to the surface below. Chloe could feel the bee heating up as the became encased in flames.

She could also feel the entire group clinging to her as the emerged into a blue sky.

"Hey losers, personal space please? Nino, your breath is killing me." They sheepishly pulled back, and Chloe smirked.

"Um, is it just me, or is anyone having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole? Why are we even listening to a robotic bee anyway?" Nino asked nervously.

"It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Chloe shot back.

"To be fair, Chloe, we're _in_ an alien warship." Marinette pointed out. Chloe smirked.

"Oh, are you scared?" She asked. Marinette bristled. Just like that, their previous comradery was gone.

"With you at the helm? Terrified." She responded.

"Guys, knock it off." Adrien said quietly. "We have more important things to worry about."

Marinette looked embarrassed.

"You're right, Adrien. I'm sorry." She apologized. Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"So, what do we do?" Alya asked. Marinette snapped back into leader mode.

"First, we need to figure out where we're going. Chloe?"

"I… don't know." She admitted. She could feel the disapproving looks of the group. "The bee's not talking to me anymore. But if I had to take a guess, it would be that castle up ahead."

Everyone's heads snapped up, and sure enough, the bee was slowly descending upon a beautiful castle. The bee's eyes began to glow, and the spires of the castle lit up to match as they landed in the courtyard, in front of a large door.

The bee's mouth opened to allow them to exit, but Marinette stopped them.

"Remember to keep your guard up." She warned them. Alya frowned.

"Is something wrong?" She asked her. Marinette hesitated.

"My crew was captured by aliens once," She said quietly. "I'm _not_ going to let it happen again." With that, they filed out of the cockpit.

* * *

As soon as they were outside, the bee reared up and let a loud buzz. The door glowed and slid open for them. After quickly exchanging glances, the group headed inside.

"Hello?" Nino called out. His voice echoed down the empty hall. The others glared at him, but he just shrugged. They came to a stop in front of a grand staircase. Alya's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"From the size of the bee, I expected these steps to be bigger." She commented.

They all gasped as the ceiling lit up, and a curtain of blue light surrounded them.

"Hold for identity scan." Came a robotic female voice.

"Why are we here?" Marinette called out as the computer scanned them. "What do you want with us?"

Instead of a response, lamps lit up on their own, illuminating the castle. In particular, illuminating a previously darkened hallway, leading straight back into the heart of the castle. Alya gulped.

"I guess we're going that way."

They continued to follow the path the lights made for them in silence, which was only punctured by the sound of Nino calling out in greeting every so often. Eventually, they found themselves at another large door which opened to reveal-

"It's some sort of control room." Alya told them. She strolled into the center of the room, where she found a control panel. Before she even touched it, it lit up. Hearing a noise come from behind them, the group spun around, and found some sort of pod emerging from the ground.

A moment later, a second one slid up to their right. They could barely make out the figures of… people?

"Are these guys… dead?" Nino asked from where he hid behind the control panel.

Suddenly, the first pod slid open to reveal… a girl.

Flaming red hair fell in waves over her shoulders, extending down to her waist. Her skin was pale as moonlight, with freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. This coupled with her serene smile as she slept made her the most beautiful girl any of them had ever seen.

Suddenly, her eyes opened and she gasped.

"Father!" She cried, falling forward. Chloe instinctively darted forward and caught her, struggling to keep both of them from falling to the floor. The girl looked at her with confusion.

"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked, looking around at the room.

"I'm Chloe." She replied dumbly, staring at the girl. The girl turned back to her, sky blue eyes drifting to the side of her face.

"Your… ears."

"Uh, yeah?" Chloe asked.

"They're hideous. What's wrong with them?" The girl asked, looking disgusted. Chloe noticed for the first time that the girl had almost elf-like ears, very different from her own. Her face grew red in anger and embarrassment.

"Nothing's wrong with them!" She argued defensively. "They heard exactly what you said about them!" The girl's eyes narrowed. In a flash, she twisted Chloe's arm behind her back and slammed her into the ground.

"Who are you? Where is Master Fu? What are you doing in my castle?" She demanded. Chloe let out a cry of pain.

"A giant bee brought us here! That's all we know!"

The girl released Chloe, seemingly startled.

"How do you have the bee? What happened to its paladin? What are you all doing here? Unless… how long has it been?" She asked them. They all stared at her in silence for a moment.

"We don't know what you're talking about." Marinette told her. "Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help." The girl's shoulders slumped and she sighed.

"I am Princess Tikki of planet Altea." She told them, strolling towards the control panel. "I've got to find out where we are and how long we've been asleep." She placed her hands on part of the panel and it lit up, much to Alya's fascination.

"Okay, so that's how that works." She remarked.

Suddenly, the other pod opened up to reveal a boy. He seemed to be about the same age as Tikki, if not a bit older, but he was her opposite in terms of appearance. He had messy, dark hair that looked as though he'd just gotten out of bed, and olive skin. When he opened his eyes, they were a bright shade of green.

He stumbled forward, but no one was there to catch him and he fell in a heap on the floor. Struggling to his feet, his eyes widened.

"Enemy combatants!" He declared, and leapt towards Nino, who quickly dodged out of the way.

"They're not enemies, Plagg." Tikki called absently. Plagg had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Oh. Uh, sorry about that." He apologized to Nino, who just stared at him. His gaze was focused on Plagg's ears, which were also pointed. They both turned back to the group as the computer beeped and Tikki inhaled sharply.

"It can't be." She whispered to herself.

"What is it, Tikki?" Plagg asked. She raised her head.

"We've been asleep for 10,000 years!"

* * *

 _10,000 years ago…_

* * *

Tikki stared at the destruction surrounding them. Through the windows she watched as ship after ship was struck down.

Ships piloted by her own people.

The screen in front of them crackled to life. Her blood burned as her eyes fell upon their greatest enemy.

"Hawkmoth." Master Fu growled.

"Your fleet has been destroyed, Master Fu. I will be there shortly to claim Miraculous." That was all he said before the screen cut out.

The Akuma fleet in front of them began firing on the castle. Tikki turned to Master Fu.

"Father, we must form Miraculous and fight before it's too late!" She insisted. He closed his eyes.

"It's already too late." He replied. He stared down at the bracelet on his wrist sadly. "We must send the mechas and the Miraculouses away. We can't risk them falling into Hawkmoth's hands."

"We can't give up hope!" Tikki cried. She turned to Plagg for support, but he remained silent, casting his eyes towards the ground.

"I am sorry, my daughter." Fu apologized, bringing a hand up to her face. "If all goes well, I will see you again soon. I love you."

She felt a zap against her neck, and her eyes began to close of her own accord. With her last ounce of strength, she reached out.

"Father!"

* * *

 **A/N - I hope you liked this chapter of Miraculous: Legendary Defenders!**

 **Resa - Congratulations, you guessed it! Tikki and Plagg are this fic's versions of Allura and Coran. I hope you like it!**

 **Anyway, please leave a review with your thoughts, predictions, and suggestions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**


	7. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 7

**Hey, welcome back to the story!**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - I can say with absolute certainty that there _will_ be an ultimate showdown between Marinette and Hawkmoth. It might take a while to get there, but trust me, I have many things planned... ;)**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Tikki stood still for a moment, silent. She couldn't comprehend the information before her on the screen.

"Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed," She turned to her companion, whose expression had transformed into one of shock and sadness. "Plagg… Father is gone. Our entire civilization…" Her expression darkened. " _Hawkmoth._ "

Marinette flinched at the mention of the name. A face flashed through her mind; a gray mask concealing its features.

"Hawkmoth?" She asked.

"He was the King of the Akuma, composed of beings of every species and race, placed under his mind control." Tikki explained. "He was a vile creature and an enemy to all free people."

"I remember now," Marinette murmured. "I was his prisoner." Tikki's eyes widened.

"He's still alive?" She asked, shocked. "Impossible!"

"I can't explain it, but it's true." Marinette insisted. "He's searching for a super weapon called Miraculous."

"He's searching for it because he knows that it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does!" Tikki declared.

* * *

Lila Rossi, otherwise known as Volpina, rose from her knees. She was still recovering from the surge of energy she had felt when using her powers. Adjusting her hair, she strolled over to Hawkmoth, who stood silent, staring out of the ship window.

"The bee has returned," She informed her leader. "And now I feel a resurgence of Altean energy."

"Fu's daughter lives." Hawkmoth growled. "How?"

"I know not," Volpina replied. "But it is time to reclaim what is rightfully yours."

"Yes," He agreed. "I shall wipe that foul race from the universe forever and reclaim Miraculous. Contact my commanders."

* * *

Ivan Bruel, known as Stoneheart, stood practicing his transformation. With a simple thought, he could now turn into a rock monster, and with his new prosthetic arm, he was even more powerful than before.

The experiment had been painful, but he was nothing if not a loyal servant to Lord Hawkmoth.

"Lord Hawkmoth requires an audience." Came a robotic voice.

 _Speaking of._

An image of Hawkmoth flickered onto his screen.

"Commander Stoneheart, the Princess of Altea is alive and hiding in your sector. We believe she alone holds the whereabouts of the remaining mechas." He told him. "Your battle fleet is closest to her location. Retrieve her and the Miraculouses. With them all, the Akuma empire will be unstoppable."

Ironheart bowed.

"I fight for the Akuma empire. I conquer in the name of Hawkmoth. No foe has stood in my way and none ever will." He declared. As the image of Hawkmoth disappeared, he turned to his crew.

"Set a course for Arus!"

* * *

"Princess, you must eat." Plagg told Tikki quietly, gently trying to pull her away from the control panel and towards a plate of cookies. "It's been ten thousand years."

She pulled out of his grasp, eyes never leaving the screen.

"I'm not hungry." She replied flatly. Hurt flickered across Plagg's features, but he concealed it quickly.

"Wow, ten thousand years?" Chloe asked. "That's like, one thousand plus ten."

"That's _times_ ten." Marinette corrected.

"Whatever, loser."

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving." Nino remarked.

"Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times." Alya pointed out.

"Hmm, good point." He replied, before grabbing a handful of cookies.

"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology ten thousand years ago." Marinette said, gazing around at the room, eyes falling particularly on the pods that had apparently kept people alive for ten thousand years. She turned to Plagg with a smile. "It must have been an incredible place."

"Yes, it was," Plagg agreed, expression sad. "But now it's gone, and we're the last Alteans alive." He glanced over at Tikki, whose eyes were beginning to water.

Crossing the room in a few quick strides, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. A second later, she had wrapped his arms around herself and buried her face in his chest. The team exchanged awkward glances as they heard Tikki crying softly, with Plagg whispering things to her in a language they didn't understand. They seemed to come to some sort of understanding, and Tikki pulled back, offering Plagg a watery smile.

She turned to the team.

"I'm sorry about that. Now-" She started, but was updated by the sound of an alarm blaring. Plagg dashed over to the control console.

"An Akuma battleship has set its tracker to us!" He informed the team.

"How did they find us?" Tikki asked, alarmed.

"I'm not sure, but it's probably Marinette's fault." Chloe commented. Marinette ignored her, though her face grew red. The only thing stopping her from fighting back was Adrien, who had caught her gaze and silently shook his head.

"How long before they arrive?" She asked. Plagg thought for a moment.

"At their speed? Oh, well, uh… carry the two… I'd say maybe a couple of days." He replied.

"Good. Let them come." Tikki declared. "By the time they get here, you five will have reformed Miraculous, and together we will destroy Hawkmoth's empire!"

"Princess, there are five of these animal mechas. How will we find the rest of them?" Marinette asked.

Instead of reply, Tikki strolled past all of them, centering herself in the middle of a large circle. A curtain of blue light descended on her, and her eyes closed.

"Master Fu connected the mechas to Tikki's life force." Plagg explained. "She alone is the key to their whereabouts."

Tikki's eyes opened and glowing blue symbols appeared in the air.

"Whoa." The group said together.

"These are coordinates." Alya observed, looking to the holographic models of the animal mechas. "The black cat looks like it's in the same place as the bee."

"Aww, look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage!" Plagg cooed. Tikki smiled.

"Very observant. That's because the black cat is in the castle." She told them.

"To keep the black cat out of Hawkmoth's hands, Master Fu locked it in the castle. It can only be freed if the other four mechas are present." Plagg explained.

"As you have found, the mechas choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his mecha. Together, they form something greater than science can explain." Tikki continued, turning to Alya.

"The fox has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Alya, you will pilot the fox." Tikki informed her. Nino chuckled.

"Oh dude, you'll get along great." He told Alya, who looked indignant.

"Hey! What do you mean by that?" She demanded. Nino held his hands up in defense.

"I mean, you _did_ sneak out of the Garrison multiple times just to get pictures for your newspaper." He pointed out.

"How'd you know about that?"

"Nino," Tikki called, and his attention snapped back to her. "The turtle is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others before their own. Their heart must be might."

Nino raised his eyebrows questionably, as if to say _wait, me?_

"The bee-" Tikki started, but Chloe cut her off.

"Let me guess, it takes the most beautiful and best pilot of the bunch?" She asked with a smirk. Tikki's eyes narrowed. Without a word, she turned to Marinette.

"The ladybug is the decisive head of Miraculous. It will take a pilot who is a born leader, whose team will follow them without hesitation. That is why you, Marinette, will pilot the ladybug." Tikki told her. Marinette blushed, seemingly flattered.

"Thank you, I… I've never thought of myself as a born leader, but I'll do my best." She promised. Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure Marinette's your girl for this job?"

"That's not all," Tikki warned, ignoring her. "The ladybug can also be temperamental. You will have to earn its respect. Unfortunately, I can't locate the ladybug's coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After ten thousand years, it probably needs some work." She admitted.

"Don't worry, we'll find it soon." Plagg assured them with a confident grin. "I'm a fantastic mechanic." Tikki giggled lightly before continuing.

"Once all of the animal mechas are united, you will form Miraculous, the most powerful warrior ever know, defender of the universe." She declared.

"Awesome!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Wait," Nino said, struggling to keep up. "Okay, we're going to be in that giant robot and flying animal mechas. Got that part. How do animal robots turn into limbs? Also, is this going to be a long trip, because I have to pee. Do you people pee?" He asked Tikki and Plagg.

Everyone ignored him.

"We don't have much time," Marinette told them. "Chloe, you take Nino and get the turtle. Alya, you'll need to get the fox… Adrien, you'll accompany her."

"Yes ma'am." Adrien replied with a smile.

"I guess…" Marinette hesitated, frowning. "I guess the smart thing for me to do would be to stay here. As soon as we figure out where the ladybug is, I'll go get it."

Adrien glanced at Marinette's troubled features. It seemed like staying behind was the last thing she wanted to do.

"In the meantime, I'll get the castle's defenses ready." Tikki added. "They'll be sorely needed." Plagg nodded.

"And I'll ready a pod and load in coordinates so you can reach the fox."

A little while later, Chloe was piloting the bee again, this time containing only herself and Nino. Glancing out of the window, she could see Adrien piloting a pod with Alya. Together, they flew higher into the sky until two wormholes appeared.

"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other mechas open for two of your Earth hours, so you'll have to be quick about your work," Came Plagg's voice over their headsets. "The good news is that according to my readings, both planets are relatively peaceful. So, if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives!" Chloe's eyes widened, and she and Nino exchanged shocked looks.

"Wait, what!" She exclaimed.

"I did _not_ receive the memo on this." Nino said.

But it was too late. Within seconds, they were sucked into the wormhole.

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, I hope you enjoyed that chapter!**

 **I know that having Volpina in the role Haggar doesn't _quite_ fit, but hey, I needed to get her into the story somewhere! And I have big plans for her later on, so just wait and see!**

 **And I assume you all recognize our beloved Ivan as Stoneheart, from the origin episodes!**

 **Anyway, please leave a review with your thoughts, predictions, and suggestions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	8. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 8

**A/N - Hey guys, welcome back to the story! Sorry it's been a bit since I updated, things have been crazy, and they'll only get crazier! Hopefully this chapter is good enough that it'll make up for it. I hope you enjoy!**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - I am so sorry! I didn't even realize I made that mistake! I immediately went back and re-uploaded the chapter so future readers won't have to see that mistake. I'd promise it won't happen again, but I am honestly very clumsy when it comes to editing, and I'm sure I'll make more mistakes. I hope it didn't ruin the story for you :(**

 **Miraculous Panda - You and your older sisters have good taste! I'm glad you like the story!**

 **potato - Haha are you really surprised Chloe would say something like that?**

 **Resa - I'm sorry! I'm so glad you found me again! And congratulations again on being right!**

* * *

Adrien blindly followed Alya as she led them through the woods, her eyes focused only on the tracking device in her hands. Adrien, on the other hand, was very much distracted by their surroundings.

The planet was absolutely beautiful. Having spent his years living in the canyon by the Garrison, Adrien had never seen this much green in his entire life. They were currently trekking through a forest, filled with every type of plant and tree imaginable. Bright colored flowers bloomed on bushes to either side of them, fruit hung from the trees above them, and Adrien swore he saw some sort of monkey swinging through the branches.

He felt bad that Alya was missing this.

They pushed through some branches and suddenly found themselves faced with a tranquil river that ebbed gently against the sand.

"Look!" Alya called, directing Adrien's attention to a canoe.

"That's convenient." He remarked. Alya rolled her eyes.

"Look again, Adrien." She told him. He squinted at the canoe, wondering what she meant… until his eyes fell upon the wooden fox head on the front of the canoe.

"Oh."

A low growl came from their left, and the two jumped, spinning around to find…

"Is that… a walking sloth?" Alya asked, eyes fixed on the creature. And indeed it seemed to be a giant, walking sloth. Which Adrien supposed was appropriate, given that they were going to be piloting giant, robot animals

It offered her what seemed to be a sort of smile. Its eyes then fell on the tracking device, which displayed an image of the fox Miraculous. It seemed to come to some sort of realization, and ambled over to the canoe. It looked back at Alya and Adrien, gesturing for them to follow.

Alya quickly grabbed hold of Adrien, who was already starting to obey.

"Should we really be getting in a canoe with a sloth alien we just met?" She whispered. Adrien paused for a moment before shrugging.

"Should we really have let a giant robot bee guide us through a wormhole?"

She had to admit he had a point.

Within a few minutes, the two paladins were in the canoe, sitting back as the sloth alien guided them downstream at a leisurely pace.

Alya smiled.

"I wonder if Chloe and Nino are having as good of a time as we are."

* * *

Nino screamed as Chloe pulled the bee into yet another barrel roll.

"Stop doing that!" He yelled at her, gripping the back of her seat tightly.

"In case you haven't noticed, we've got two ships trying to blast us out of the sky, so zip it!" Chloe shouted back. She jerked the stick sideways to avoid yet another laser beam.

"I thought Plagg said these planets were peaceful!" Nino complained.

"Maybe peaceful means something different in Altean." Chloe replied, keeping her attention focused on piloting the bee.

Nino pulled out his tracker.

"According to the coordinates, we're right on top of the turtle mecha. It's below there, where they're mining for ore," He said, pointing towards the cave entrances in the canyon below. "They don't even know the turtle is there. Or maybe they just got here and they're digging for the turtle. What do you think, Chloe?"

"Who cares? Just go get it! I'm dropping you down there." Chloe told him, steering the bee towards the caves.

Nino laughed nervously.

"Me? Down there? Uh, no. No, not happening."

"Yes, I'll cover you." Chloe ordered in a tone that told Nino that this was not up for discussion.

As they approached the ground, Nino started sweating.

"What if the turtle doesn't work? What - what if I - what if I can't get into the mines? What if I start panicking? It's too late, I'm already panicking!"

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Sorry, no time for questions."

Pressing a button on her dashboard, the floor beneath Nino opened up and he fell to the ground below.

Chloe swiftly turned the bee around, blocking shots from the fighters as Nino ran to safety.

Sprinting into the cave, Nino found himself on some sort of lift. He quickly tore into the control panel, mumbling to himself all the while.

"Oh sure, just drop me off in an alien planet. That's cool, dude. There are only a bunch of mean aliens _that want to kill me_ , but sure, go connect with a big, mechanical turtle. Easy peasy. That all makes a ton of sense to me."

The machine began to whirr and the lift started to descend into the cave below.

As the lift carried him further into the cave, Nino became aware of green light shining down on him. Looking up, he gasped as his eyes fell upon tons of glowing turtle carvings in the rock.

"I guess I'm in the right place." He muttered as the lift hit the ground. He winced as he heard explosions coming from the entrance above. "Okay, I'm in a giant hole. Now what, Nino?"

A circle of yellow light began to glow on the cave wall.

"Alright, I guess x marks the spot. But how am I supposed to get through that?"

Backing up a few steps, he tripped over the answer to his question.

Nino smiled as he looked at the giant drill machine.

"Well, that's convenient."

* * *

Meanwhile, Chloe was not having an easy time outside. There were three - no, four fighters on her now, and she wasn't sure how many more hit her poor bee could take. She groaned in frustration as a shot nearly hit the cave entrance. She would have to start playing on the offensive.

Steeling herself, she took off towards the fighters, releasing deadly beams from the stinger of the bee. Setting her sights on one of the fighters, she zoomed in close and speared it with the stinger.

She had just begun to smile at her handiwork when she realized the other fighters had taken the opportunity to turn around and start flying back towards the mine.

"Oh, no." She sped after them, firing shot after shot, even striking one from the air, but it was too late. A missile had already been released, and it was headed straight towards the mine.

"Nino!" Chloe screamed as the missile exploded and the cave collapsed in on itself.

* * *

"I know that Tikki said this is supposed to be my mecha, but what if she's wrong?" Alya asked Adrien worriedly as they continued downstream. "I mean, she's probably not wrong, she's a princess. But I'm not a pilot! Even though I've always wanted to be a pilot." She admitted.

"Slow down." Adrien laughed, but Alya ignored him.

"I mean, I read all of the fighter manuals, but I never got to fly the simulator. But hey, I can't be worse than Chloe. She crashed the simulator _all the time_. But what if I get in there and it doesn't respond? What if I get in there and it's too big and my feet don't touch the pedals?" Her head shot up. " _What if there aren't even pedals_?"

"You're rambling," Adrien informed her with a smile. "Come on, Alya. What would Nino say?"

She instinctively smiled.

"Probably something along the lines of 'chill out, dude.'" She quipped. Adrien laughed.

"Then that's what you should do."

Alya grinned. He had a point. Nino always seemed to know when she was overreacting, and exactly what to say to cheer her up.

Her eyes widened as the boat came to a stop in front of a large, pyramid-like temple. She glanced back at Adrien, who smiled at her encouragingly.

"Go on." He told her.

That was all she needed.

Clambering out of the boat, she ran towards the temple.

Adrien smiled at the sloth alien, who returned it with a friendly growl. He remembered what Chloe had said the other day when he'd asked about Alya and Nino.

 _Can't you see what's going on?_

His smile stretched into a grin when he came to a realization.

"When she and Nino get over themselves, they'll be perfect for each other."

* * *

Alya could feel herself getting closer and closer to the fox, drawn to it by what she imagined was the same energy that had led Adrien to find the bee. With each step, more carvings lit up under her feet, filling the air with an orange light as she began her climb.

Sidestepping vines, climbing over large roots, and clambering up the large branches wrapped around the temple, Alya finally made it to the top to find… nothing.

She froze. Did she do this for nothing? Was the fox gone?

Her questions were answered as the ground underneath her began to rumble. Orange light shone from beneath the huge roots and branches, through a crack that was just big enough for a person. Pushing her glasses up her nose and letting out a whoop of joy, Alya took the plunge into the temple.

Adrien leaned absently against a large boulder. That is, until he heard a loud growl come from the temple. Looking up, he gasped as a giant fox burst through the branches and roots.

Adrien grinned, turning to the sloth alien who had remained by his side.

"I told her she could do it."

* * *

"Come on, Nino! Please!" Chloe shouted desperately. "I know I called you a loser, but-" She was interrupted as her bee took another hit. But this time, it was more than the mecha could take. "We're going down!"

They hit the ground, hard.

"Come on girl, you have to get up!" Chloe whispered to the bee, yanking at the controls. Red lights flashed as her mecha stood on shaky legs.

Chloe raised her head just in time to see three missiles fired at her.

"Oh, no."

She was prepared for it all to end there. But just as she had begun to close her eyes, something leaped in front of her, taking the hits. No, not just something… a giant, mechanical turtle.

Turning towards the fighters, it leaped at them, crushing them beneath itself in a giant, ridiculous belly flop.

Something only Nino would even _think_ to do.

"You okay, Chloe?" Nino's voice echoed over the intercom. Chloe breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nino! I thought you were dead! You jumped in front of those shots and saved my life!" She sqeauled in delight.

"Well, actually, I was trying to get out of the way." He admitted, and Chloe rolled her eyes. "Thankfully, what this big guy lacks in speed, he makes up for in armor! Man, it can take a beating."

Chloe just laughed.

"Come on, loser, let's get out of here."

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! That's three mechas down, two to go!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts, predictions, and suggestions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	9. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 9

**A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! I want to warn you guys in advance, I _will_ be starting school again this Monday, so updates may not be as frequent. Trust me, I'm not happy about it either :(**

 **Still, I fully intend to keep writing, no matter how long it takes. I have big plans for this story, and I'm not letting them go to waste!**

 **Resa - Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed it!**

 **potato - Well, Chloe does still have feelings for her team... even if she's not completely open about it.**

 **Miraculous Panda - I did do the Paladin/Lion quiz, actually! I ended up getting the Black Lion, which makes sense because I love taking charge :)**

 **SailorMew4 - Haha, I hope you keep watching! Voltron is an absolutely amazing show. I'm glad you like the story!**

* * *

"You made it!" Tikki exclaimed happily as Chloe and Nino stumbled into the room. They were the last to arrive, it would seem.

"Just barely!" Chloe declared angrily. "That was a nightmare!"

Adrien and Alya exchanged amused looks.

"Yeah, we had a tough time, too." Adrien said with a smile.

"Have you found the ladybug yet?" Chloe inquired, glancing over towards Marinette. The poor girl looked utterly frustrated by the lack of action. She had no doubt that Marinette hated being left behind.

"Tikki just located it. There's a bit of good news and bad news," Plagg informed them. "The good news is, the ladybug is nearby!"

The team collectively breathed a sigh of relief.

"The bad news is, it's on that Akuma ship now orbiting planet Arus."

"Wait, what?" Chloe exclaimed.

"But wait, good news again!" Plagg assured them, his face lighting up. " _We're_ Arus!"

"They're here already?" Marinette asked, immediately alarmed.

"Um, well, yes," Plagg admitted sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. "My calculations were a bit off. Finger counting… it's more of an art than a science."

Chloe was just about to deliver some choice words to Plagg, when the screen in front of them flickered to life.

The image was a disturbing one. On screen was… well, Chloe wasn't quite sure what it was. She watched as a huge, towering beast made of stone turned towards the screen and began to speak.

"Princess Tikki, this is Commander Stoneheart of the Akuma empire," The creature said in a deep, rumbling voice. "I come on behalf of Hawkmoth, lord of the known universe. I am here to confiscate the mechas and Miraculouses. Turn them over to me, or I _will_ destroy your planet."

The screen flickered out.

Everyone was silent for a moment, staring at the place where the image had been.

Marinette was the first to speak.

"Okay, let's not panic-" She started, but Chloe interrupted her.

"Not panic? That rock monster is driving his battleship towards us, and we only have four mechas!"

"Technically, only _three_ working mechas." Alya pointed.

Chloe glared at her.

"That's right. Thank you, Alya. Three working mechas and a castle that's, like, 10,000 years old!" She continued.

"Actually, it's 10,600 years old," Plagg corrected her. "You see, it was built by my great grandfather-"

"Not helping, Plagg." Tikki chimed in quietly, and he fell silent. Chloe just rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, don't you see? This is the _perfect_ time to panic!" She declared.

"Wait! This castle has a particle barrier that we can activate!" Tikki exclaimed quickly.

"But the particle barrier won't hold Stoneheart's ion cannon forever. The Akuma technology must have advanced since we fought them last." Plagg pointed out.

"Can we panic now?" Nino asked timidly.

"No," Marinette told him firmly. "We've just got to figure out a plan of action, and figure it out quickly."

"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day." Chloe suggested.

"I second that," Nino agreed. "I mean, we gave it a shot. Couldn't do it. We only have three mechas. We can't form Miraculous. Maybe we could form a snake. Or a worm!" He continued excitedly. "To go through that hole you were talking about, Chloe."

"Then it's settled," Chloe announced with a smug grin. "Adrikins can ride with me. The rest of you can figure something out."

"We can't just abandon Arus," Alya argued. "The Akumas will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them."

"But if we run, maybe Stoneheart will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth," Nino argued back, causing Alya to shoot him a glare. "So let's form the snake-worm thingamajig and slither on out of here."

"Stoneheart could destroy the planet then come after us anyway," Marinette pointed out. "Staying is our only option."

Chloe narrowed her eyes.

"Here's an option; shut your mouth."

Marinette opened her mouth to retort, but then felt a hand settle into hers from beside her. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

The hand squeezed hers gently before slipping from her grasp.

Marinette raised her head.

"Okay, how about this," She started, turning to Tikki and Plagg. "Princess Tikki, these are your mechas. You've dealt with the Akuma empire before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think we should do?"

The entire team turned to face Tikki, who glanced down with a troubled expression on her face.

"I-I don't know." She admitted.

It was silent for a moment.

"Perhaps your father can help." Plagg said quietly.

Tikki's eyes widened.

"My father?"

* * *

Tikki looked around curiously as Plagg led her into what appeared to be a dark, empty room.

"Plagg… what is this?" She asked, turning to face her friend, who had remained by the entrance.

"Master Fu knew there was a chance that he would never see you again, so his memories, his very _being,_ were stored in this computer for you." He told her.

She approached the console in the center of the room.

Laying a hand on it, she gasped as her dim surroundings transformed into… Altea?

She practically sqeauled in delight as she looked around. She found herself in a beautiful meadow, the one by the castle in which she had been raised. The same gorgeous flowers, the same warm breeze… she was home.

And then… there was _him_.

"Father!" She cried out as a hologram appeared before her. Without hesitation she ran to him, her eyes already watering. "Father, it is so good to see you!"

Master Fu offered her a warm smiled.

"Tikki, my only child, how I've missed your face."

Tikki faltered, as his voice had taken on a more robotic quality than she was used to. For a moment, she had forgotten that this wasn't real.

"I'm so frightened," She admitted. "An Akuma ship is set to attack, and I don't know what to do. I need your help."

"I would do anything to take this burden from you." Fu said with a sigh, as Tikki sat at the base of the hologram.

"I don't know if we should run to preserve what we have, or stay and risk everything. I want to fight, but the paladins of old are gone," She glanced up. "I know what you would do."

"I scattered the mechas to keep them out of Hawkmoth's hands. You urged me to keep them and fight, but for the greater good of protecting the universe, I scattered them."

Tikki lowered her head in defeat.

"I think I understand."

"No, daughter," Fu insisted, and she looked up in surprise. " _You_ were right. I made a terrible mistake, one that cost the universe countless lives. Forming Miraculous is the only way to stop Hawkmoth. You must be willing to sacrifice everything to assemble the mechas and correct my error."

* * *

Tikki strolled into the center room with confidence, to find the team waiting for her. She had donned her old outfit; a red top with black spots, dark leggings, and a jacket. Her red hair was pulled up in a tight bun.

"You five paladins were brought here for a reason," She told them. "The Miraculous mechas are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Hawkmoth. It is our destiny. Miraculous is the universe's only hope. _We_ are the universe's only hope."

Marinette glanced around at her fellow teammates, who nodded in agreement. She turned back to Tikki with a smile.

"We're with you, Princess."

Tikki turned to Plagg, who was struggling to carry a large chest into the room. He finally dropped it to the floor in front of them, heaving a sigh of relief.

"I guess you lose a bit of muscle strength after ten thousand year," He breathed, before sliding to the floor.

"What is that?" Alya asked curiously.

Tikki just smiled.

"Your suits of armor."

Opening the chest, five different items could be seen. One by one, Tikki pulled them out and handed each item to a paladin.

They exchanged confused looks.

In Marinette's hands, she held a pair of earrings. The were very simple, pure black with a silver lining and a circular shape. Nothing about them seemed particularly significant, yet she still felt drawn to them.

Adrien examined the silver ring Tikki handed him curiously. It had a thick band with a circular surface, which was surrounded by a lining with four pointed diamond shapes on each diagonal side.

Alya held up the necklace to the light in order to better examine it. It had what looked to be a chain made of pure gold, but it was the attachment that interested her most. It was a white-tipped orange fox tail pendant.

Chloe glanced at the hair comb skeptically. It was golden with an arch on top and nine teeth. One side had the design of a bee with black stripes, a black head, and wings stretched out to make the arch. She had to admit, this might have been something she would wear back on Earth. The Alteans had good taste.

Nino wasn't really a jewelry person, but if he were to wear anything, this would be it. The bracelet was a light green stone shaped like a turtle, with a black string tied through holes in the turtle's head and tail to make a loop. The stone had six triangular carvings on its shell, along with carvings on the edges on the edges of the shell.

"Not that receiving such a lovely gift isn't absolutely thrilling, but how exactly are _these_ suits of armor?" Chloe inquired.

Tikki just smiled.

"These _lovely gifts_ are your Miraculouses. You will see how they are armor in a moment, I promise. But first, put them on."

The team obeyed, each paladin donning their newly acquired item.

"Now, each of you will have a unique catch phrase," Tikki explained. "When you utter it while wearing your Miraculous, well… you can see for yourselves."

"A catch phrase?" Chloe asked skeptically. "Like, beam me up, Scotty? Or come at me, bro? Or Bond, James Bond?"

Tikki and Plagg stared at her, uncomprehending.

"Ignore her," Marinette recommended. "Please, continue."

Tikki finally shook her head, snapping out of it.

"Yes, well, anyway, you each only have to utter your designated catchphrase, which Plagg will hand out to you now." She said.

"I will?" Plagg asked from where he was still sitting on the floor. Tikki gave him a look, and he reluctantly got to his feet, grabbing slips of paper from the chest. "Right, I will."

He passed them out to each paladin.

"Well, who would like to go first?" Tikki asked, clapping her hands together with a smile. The paladins exchanged looks.

"Dude, no offense, but this seems kind of ridiculous." Nino told her.

Tikki took offense.

"This is an ancient ritual formed by the original paladins of Miraculous, it is not-"

"I'll go first," Marinette interrupted her, earning a thankful glance from Nino. She glanced at the paper in her hands. "Spots on!"

* * *

 **A/N - I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I finally got to introduce the Miraculouses into the story, and I'm very excited for where this story is going to go... and hopefully you are too!**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**

 **P.S. For those who have watched Season 3 of Voltron, what are your thoughts? I'm curious to know what other people think!**


	10. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 10

**A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! We made it to chapter 10! That's gotta mean something, right?**

 **Just a warning, this chapter is filled with _lots_ of descriptions, including the characters' outfits and weapons. I know that can be a bit boring, so feel free to skim over it if you already know what the characters look like when they're transformed and how their weapons work.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Everyone's jaws dropped as pink light swirled around Marinette, finally parting to reveal that her clothes had transformed into a red skintight bodysuit with a black collar covered in black spots. On her face was a red mask with five black spots in a symmetrical design. The previously black earrings were now spotted as well, and her pigtails were tied with red ribbons instead of hairbands.

Marinette looked at their awed faces with confusion.

"What is it?" She asked. Then she looked down at herself and gasped. "Oh…"

"I want to be next!" Chloe squealed excitedly. She took a brief look at her own paper and wrinkled her nose. "Why is mine practically identical to Marinette's? That's so-"

Tikki narrowed her eyes, and Chloe stopped.

"Anyway, stripes on!"

Chloe felt warmth shoot through her body as yellow light surrounded her, obscuring her vision. She felt her everyday clothes melt away, and in their place was a yellow bodysuit with three black stripes on her torso and two on her upper thigh, with her upper rib cage also covered in black. Her sleeves ended in fingerless gloves. Her ponytail was now tied back with a black hairband, with two black antennae-like ribbons sticking out from it. She felt a mask similar to Marinette's was on her face.

As soon as her transformation was complete, Chloe immediately ran to the window in order to catch a glimpse of her appearance.

A grin spread across her face.

"I knew I was attractive, but this suit _really_ brings out my best features, don't you think, Adrien?" She asked, admiring her reflection. After a moment of quiet, she turned around to find that the idiot was still staring at Marinette, a noticeable blush on his features. Chloe scowled.

Alya and Nino exchanged glances.

"Same time?" He offered. She nodded. "Three, two, one…"

"Ears up!"

"Shell out!"

The team looked on in awe as orange and green light engulfed the two. They were so close that the colors mixed and swirled together, intertwining and dancing playfully.

Alya's suit was orange with a white front, a black swan-necked collar, and black arms and gloves up to the middle of her upper arms. It had a long, fox-like coattail that ended a bit below her knees at a sharp white tip. Her mask was orange with a white bottom half and a black dot above each eye.

She reached up to feel the top of her head, on which there were now two orange fox ears with white insides and black tips. Examining her hair, she found it gently curled, with her normal reddish-brown color fading into white at the ends.

"I always thought ombre hair was cool," She mused. "Guess now I know what it's like."

Nino tugged uncomfortably at his protective green body suit. It contained a blend of colors, with dark green accented by lighter greens and a few spots of brown. Reaching behind his head he found a dark green hood. Instead of a mask, he had goggles obscuring his features.

"Is the suit always this tight?" He started. "Because I…" He trailed off as his eyes landed on Alya, who was still playing with her hair.

He gulped.

Chloe rolled her eyes. _Was she the only one of these losers not completely lovesick? Disgusting._

"Adrikins, it's your turn." She reminded him. Adrien snapped out of his trance, yanking his gaze away from Marinette as she turned to face him.

"Right! Yeah, um… claws out!"

Chloe immediately ate her words as she looked at Adrien in his new outfit. He wore a textured black skintight catsuit with metal details. He had matching gloves with claws on the fingertips and boots with a hidden wedge, silver toes, and paw-shaped treads. A golden bell hung from his neck, connected to a zipper on the front of his costume, and a long belt that wrapped around his waist and hung out from the back like a tail. On his head were black cat ears, which twitched as Adrien examined his costume in delight.

"Now this is totally paw-some!" He announced with a grin.

"It's certainly something," Chloe remarked, looking him up and down.

Plagg and Tikki stood back, looking on as the new paladins enjoyed their new attire and chatted with each other.

"Princess, are you sure about this?" Plagg asked quietly, watching as Chloe admired her reflection, as Adrien chased his tail, as Marinette tugged at her mask, and as Alya and Nino very obviously checked each other out. "They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer."

Tikki sighed.

"No," She agreed. "But they're all we've got."

* * *

"Now for your weapons," Tikki announced. The paladins immediately stood at attention. "Each has a distinct shape based on its paladin." She approached Chloe, and handed her…

"Is this like, a spinning top?" Chloe asked skeptically, staring at the item in her hand. It was shaped like a teardrop, with the point aimed down. It was mostly yellow, with a black dot on the round end and several diagonally slanted black stripes. It had a white pull string that Chloe could only assume was meant to be wrapped around the wielder's finger.

"It's called a trompo," Plagg informed her. "It's a top that is spun winding a length of string around the body, and launching it so that it lands spinning upon its point."

"So my weapon is a toy." Chloe muttered disdainfully. "Great." Tikki scowled.

"Your trompo is _not_ a toy," She told Chloe with a glare. "When you throw it, it will create a streak of glowing energy behind it where it lands and spins. This energy has the effect of an extremely painful sting, and can be used to injure your enemies."

"Oh," Chloe said, dumbfounded. "On second thought, that sounds rather enjoyable."

Tikki rolled her eyes before moving on to Nino, handing him a small gem, which he cradled in his palm.

"Your special weapon is a shield," Plagg explained as Nino looked at the gem in confusion. "It can change sizes depending on the user's preference. Give it a try."

"Wait, what?" Nino asked. "How?"

"Picture it in your mind," Tikki told him. "And the shield will do the work."

Nino closed his eyes briefly. His arm became heavy. Cautiously opening his eyes, he found himself holding a full-sized shield.

"Dude," He breathed. "This could _not_ get any more awesome."

Plagg grinned mischievously.

"Actually, it can also be used as a hoverboard."

"Are you serious?!"

"Your weapon is the flute," Tikki said, turning to Alya. She gingerly took the flute from Tikki's hands. It was long enough to be used like a staff, and appeared to be made of reed. It was orange with white stripes, with holes along one side.

"I don't think I've played the flute since elementary school band," Alya admitted. "How does it work?"

Tikki smiled.

"When you play the flute, you will find a glowing orb of energy appears at the end. You can aim this at a particular object to create an illusion, which will vanish once touched. It's extremely useful for distracting your enemies."

Alya's eyes widened.

"Are there any limits to that? I mean… that's amazing."

"The only limits are your imagination," Plagg cackled. "You should have seen the tricks the old fox Miraculous holder used to do. It was _hilarious_."

"The old Miraculous holder?" Alya asked curiously, and Plagg froze.

"Uhh… anyway, Adrien!" He called, averting his gaze. Adrien immediately perked up as Plagg handed him a staff. It was silver in color, with a glowing green paw print near its upper end.

"This staff is basically the best thing ever, besides camembert," Plagg told him with a grin. "It's nearly unbreakable, and can be extended to unlimited length. You can split it in half or change its length to use it as a staff, sword, or vaulting pole. When that paw print button is pressed, it will slide open to reveal a screen. With that, you can use the staff as binoculars, a tracker, a map, a communicator, or an x-ray."

Adrien's smile widened into a grin, and he stared at the item in his hands with awe.

"Sounds purr-fect."

The team groaned collectively.

"Are you going to be making cat puns all the time now?" Marinette asked teasingly.

"You bet," He replied with a smirk. "After all, cat-itude is everything!"

Tikki simply rolled her eyes before moving on to Marinette, handing her what looked to be a yo-yo.

Marinette felt no skepticism. Everyone else's random objects had turned out to be extremely capable weapons. She had no doubt that there was more to this than met the eye.

The yo-yo was red with five black dots resembling a ladybug's shell, and the end of the string had a small red hoop to put around the finger.

"The yo-yo is very versatile," Tikki began. "The length of the string is unlimited, and can be controlled by willpower. It can be used for offensive and defensive capabilities, whether you want to hit your enemies, tie them up with the string, or even swing it in a circle quickly to create a shield. It works as a grappling hook, which you can swing from and travel far distances. Much like Adrien's staff, one side of the yo-yo can slide open to reveal a screen, which can be used as a tracker, a map, or a communicator."

"How come Adrikins and Marinette get the best weapons?" Chloe complained. "Where's my communicator? Why don't I get a tracker?"

"The Ladybug _is_ the head of Miraculous," Nino pointed out. "I think all of our weapons are awesome. And like Tikki said, they're based off each of our personalities."

"Yeah, you're lucky your weapon wasn't a 'whiny-little-bitchinator'." Alya muttered.

Chloe's eyes widened.

"Now wait just a minute-" She started, but Tikki cut her off.

"Paladins, focus please." She told them firmly. "We have little time. We need to retrieve the Ladybug from that Akuma ship."

The team exchanged glances. Marinette turned to Tikki with a smile.

"Then I guess it's time we come up with a plan."

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it was a bit boring, and I'm not very good at descriptions, but now it's all out of the way and we can move on to the fun stuff!**

 **Also - The descriptions of Chloe and Alya's outfits came from the released photos, and Nino's was inspired by the Jade Turtle suit from The Weight of Jade (which, by the way, is an absolutely _fantastic_ fanfic, by far one of my favourite Miraculous stories, I would definitely recommend it).**

 **Please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	11. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 11

**A/N - Hey guys, welcome back to the story! Sorry for the delay, but school has started back up again, and now I've got a ton of work to do :(**

 **Guest - I'm glad you didn't find it too boring. I hope this chapter is more interesting for you.**

 **Miraculous Panda - I actually already have plans for this fic stretching all the way up to the third season, so I will most definitely do that! Haha, and I don't think I'd like to be in any form of battle at all!**

 **Resa - I hope you liked Adrien's reaction last chapter, then!**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - Don't worry, there will most certainly be a Marinette and Hawkmoth encounter... I can't make any promises about tea, though :)**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Marinette frowned as she examined the schematics of the Akuma ship.

"That's a pretty big ship," She observed. "How are we supposed to find the Ladybug?"

"Well, it's not a matter of _we,_ it's a matter of _you_." Alya corrected her.

"Alya's right, dude" Nino agreed. "Once we get it in you'll be able to, like, _feel_ it's presence and track it down."

"Remember how Adrien felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?" Chloe reminded her. Adrien frowned.

"You made fun of me for that." He pointed. Chloe sighed fondly.

"And I'm proud of that, but it turns out it's exactly like all of that nonsense."

"Marinette, remember that the Ladybug is temperamental," Tikki chimed in. "You'll have to earn its respect."

Marinette breathed deeply. This was almost too much to take in. But she was the leader now. She couldn't show her uncertainty. She had to be strong.

"All right," She said. "Here's our plan of attack."

* * *

"The Akuma Empire knows about the Bee and the Turtle mechas, but they don't know that we have the Fox mecha too. Chloe, Nino, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up."

* * *

Nino tried to contain his nervousness as he and Chloe piloted their mechas towards the Akuma ship. _The ginormous, intimidating Akuma ship that could probably blast them to pieces._

"Attention, Akuma ship," Chloe announced into her microphone. "Do not fire. We're surrendering our Miraculouses."

Nino slumped back in his seat. It was too late to go back now.

 _I hope this works_.

* * *

"While Stoneheart is distracted, Adrien, Alya, and I will sneak onto the ship in the Fox mecha. I'll do my best to focus on finding the Ladybug, with Adrien and Alya covering me. Chloe and Nino, you'll need to find a way to take down that ion cannon."

* * *

Alya piloted the Fox to the side of the ship, using its claws to create an entrance for them. Disembarking quickly, the trio made their way into the ship. The room was empty. As they approached the door, Alya cast one last look at her mecha through the wall. Exchanging quick glances with Marinette and Adrien, they stepped through the entrance and the door slid shut behind them.

They were officially in enemy territory.

* * *

Nino gulped nervously as the top part of the ship opened up before them.

"Alya, what's your ETA?" Chloe asked over the coms. Nino could hear the slight hint of fear in her voice, as much as she was probably trying to hide it.

"We're in." Came Alya's reply.

* * *

Stoneheart gazed at the mechas before him. He tried to contain his sense of pride and satisfaction… after all, it wasn't over yet. But when it was, Hawkmoth would be _very_ pleased.

"Activate tractor beam."

* * *

Nino's eyes widened as the top of the ship began to glow with purple light.

"Uhh, dude? What is that thing?"

"I think that's our signal to get out of here!" Chloe yanked the controls to the side, barely getting out of the way as a beam of purple light shot past them.

* * *

"They lied to us," Stoneheart roared. His aides flinched as he smashed his fist into a wall. "Launch fighters!"

* * *

Chloe smirked as she saw fighters emerge from the ship.

Now _this_ was going to be fun.

"Nino, you dismantle the ion cannon while I take these losers on a space ride."

"You got it, dude."

* * *

Adrien cautiously peered around the corner, before motioning to Marinette and Alya that the coast was clear. So far, they had been lucky. This part of the ship seemed to be empty, but he was certain that it wouldn't stay that way forever.

He didn't notice at first that Marinette had stopped in the middle of the hallway. She was frozen, rooted to the spot, as she gazed down what seemed to be a familiar corridor.

A series of images began to flash through her mind.

A padded cell, with doctors shining bright lights into her eyes...

...a girl dressed in orange, with a sultry voice and olive green eyes.

...and a man in a grey mask, tapping his fingers on a cane as purple butterflies swirled around him.

Clutching her head, Marinette fell to the ground with a cry of pain.

Adrien and Alya were immediately by her side.

"Marinette, are you alright? What's wrong?"

She lifted her head as the pain subsided, meeting Adrien's gaze. She marveled at how cat-like his eyes had become in his transformation, with dark green irises and oblong pupils.

"I… I've been here before," She said finally, tearing her eyes away from Adrien. "After I was taken by the Akuma cruiser off Kerberos, they brought us here."

"So, do you remember your way around, then?" Alya asked. "Because that would be helpful."

" I remember… I remember where we were kept. The prisoners." She turned frantically to Alya. "My other crew members could be here. We have to free them."

Alya winced. She should have known this would happen.

"Marinette, we don't have time," Adrien pointed out. "We have to get the Ladybug and get back to Arus."

Marinette spun back around to face him, and the anger in her eyes surprised him.

"We can't just leave prisoners here!" She argued. Adrien paused. He didn't like having Marinette mad at him. It gave him a strange, unpleasant feeling.

"I'm sorry, believe me," He told her gently. "I want to help too. But this is war. We have to make sacrifices. We need to get moving."

Adrien turned away from her, trying his best to conceal his guilt. He hated the idea of leaving prisoners here, but there was a bigger picture.

"No!" Marinette shouted. "My fellow crewmates… are Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng. My mother and father."

Adrien stopped in his tracks. Turning back, he saw Marinette looking after him, desperation written all over her features.

"I haven't even had time to take it in," She whispered, almost to herself, before lifting her head with a determined glint in her eyes. " _I'll_ go find the Ladybug. You two go find the prisoners and free them."

"By yourself?" Adrien asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine," She replied dismissively. She looked towards Alya, who had remained silent. "You know I'm not going to compromise on this."

Alya offered her a small smile.

"I know, girl. Just be careful."

"But-" Adrien started, but was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.

"I have to go," Marinette told them. "The cells are that way."

"Wait," Adrien called, catching her arm. They locked eyes. He swallowed nervously. "Patience yields focus. Remember that."

Marinette nodded in understanding, offering him a tiny smile. Then she was gone.

Adrien stood frozen for a moment, until Alya grabbed him by the hand and dragged him away.

"We've got Akuma soldiers on our ass, lover boy. Save the longing for later."

* * *

Nino steered the turtle towards the Akuma ship, accelerating as much as he could. He was going to hit this thing, no matter what it take.

But just as he reached it, an invisible force bounced him back, sending the turtle flying.

Nino hit his head on the wall and scowled. Looking towards the ship, he could make out faint a purple light surrounding it.

"What is that, some kind of forcefield?"

* * *

Marinette groaned in frustration, staring at the symbol on the wall with despair. Four times she had managed to end up back where she started. Back in front of this same wall, with the glowing figure of a purple butterfly.

Marinette took a deep breath. She remembered what Adrien had said.

 _Patience yields focus. Remember that._

"Patience yields focus." She whispered to herself, letting her eyes close.

Suddenly, a series of images began to flash through her mind at lightning speed. They were… directions.

She opened her eyes, a smirk gracing her features.

"Gotcha."

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, hope you liked this chapter! Once I adjust to school and my new schedule, hopefully I'll be able to post more consistently. In the meantime, I'll try to write whenever I can.**

 **Anyways, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	12. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 12

**A/N - First things first, I'd like to apologize for the ginormous delay in updating. Things have been crazy ever since school started again, with quite a few serious personal situations that have arisen. I do plan to continue this story, however, so don't worry!**

 **Guest - Haha, that was my intention! I feel like each of the Miraculous characters contain a mixture of traits from the various Voltron characters, and I wanted to make that evident in the story. :)**

* * *

Alya yanked the cell door open.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng?" She called out hopefully.

Instead, she found the frightened gazes of a variety of alien creatures drawn to her.

"Don't be afraid, we're here to help you escape." Adrien assured them. "We're paladins of Miraculous."

The aliens exchanged glances.

"Miraculous…" One whispered reverently. "If anyone can get us out of here, it's them."

Adrien smiled.

"Alright, we don't have much time. Let's get to the escape pods."

Alya waited for all of the aliens to exit before casting one last look at the empty cell.

 _Marinette would be devastated._

* * *

"Woohoo!" Chloe grinned as she expertly maneuvered her way around the Akuma ship in the bee, dodging blasts from the fighters and retaliating with her own lethal shots. "This is way more fun without Nino barfing!"

Meanwhile, the turtle crashed into the side of the ship and bounced back, sending Nino flying.

"Ughhh." He groaned.

* * *

Marinette dashed around a corner, before skidding to a stop. Her eyes widened as her gaze fell upon the very thing she had been searching for. _The ladybug._

"Bingo."

As she approached, she found it was surrounded by red light, the same force field that had protected the other mechas.

She placed a hand on the barrier, sending ripples across the force field.

"Let's get out of here. Open up" Marinette told the ladybug. It remained still, silent. Her brow furrowed in confusion. "It's me. Marinette. Your buddy. It's me! Marinette, your-" She groaned in frustration. Maybe it couldn't hear her? She cupped her hands around her mouth. "I am your paladin."

Suddenly, a laser blast fired past her head, missing her only by an inch. Whirling around, she found three Akuma soldiers wielding blasters.

Acting on instinct, she whipped out her yo-yo from her side, spinning it rapidly to create a shield. She glared back at the ladybug.

"I'm bonding with you! Hey! Come on, we're connected!"

The ladybug didn't budge. Marinette gritted her teeth and turned back to the approaching fighters.

"You're not getting this mecha," She told them.

Darting forward, Marinette used her yo-yo to wrap around the soldiers' weapons, ripping them from their grasps.

All except for one.

She felt searing pain as a blaster shot hit her in the chest, throwing her backwards against the control panel.

Her vision swam as she looked up. The Akuma soldiers advanced on her. Casting a quick glance at the control panel, her eyes fell upon a large button. Grabbing hold of the edge of the table, she slammed her fist down on it.

The Akuma barely had time to react before the floor beneath them began to slide apart, and they were sucked into space.

Marinette clung to the panel desperately as she felt herself getting pulled towards the vacuum, legs dangling in the air. The button was close, but not close enough. As she reached for it, a piece of debris hurtled towards her, hitting her square in the jaw.

The force was enough to make her lose her grip, and she let out a final scream as she was yanked from the ship into the darkness of space.

* * *

"Hurry!" Alya called to the prisoners, urging them towards the escape pod. "You're almost there."

The escapees heeded her orders eagerly, all scrambling to make it to the ship. Until they heard a voice from behind them.

"Halt."

Spinning around, Alya and Adrien found themselves faced with five Akuma soldiers.

"Get to the ship, and don't look back." Adrien ordered the prisoners over his shoulder. They obliged.

Drawing his baton, he turned back to the soldiers.

"You sure you guys wanna do this?" Adrien asked with a smirk, snapping his baton to full length. The soldiers simply leveled their blasters at him and began to fire. He deflected the shots with ease.

"Well, if that's the way you want to do it."

 _He'd been dying to try this thing out._

* * *

Marinette tried hard to steady her breathing as she floated through space, watching the ship get further and further away, but it was a difficult task.

The suit was insulated and would protect her… but that didn't mean she wouldn't die out here. No food, no water… give it three to five days, and she'd be gone.

Images began to flash through her mind. She saw her parents, with their loving smiles. Alya, with her infectious laugh. Her newfound companions, Tikki, Plagg, Nino, and even Chloe.

And then there was Adrien. The boy she'd been crushing on for as long as she could remember. The boy who would never know how she felt about him.

Just as she was about to close her eyes for good, she glimpsed something out of the corner of her eyes. Something large, red, and spotted.

A minute later, Marinette was seated in the cockpit of the ladybug. She took the controls with a smile.

"Good girl."

* * *

Nino groaned in frustration, firing at the forcefield for what felt like the thousandth time.

"Come on, just break, you stupid thing!"

This time, he held his fire, keeping a constant stream of energy focused on the barrier. His eyes widened as cracks began to appear.

With a resounding boom, the forcefield dissolved before his eyes.

Nino let out a whoop of joy.

"Score one for Nino!"

Swooping in, he slammed the turtle into the side of the ion cannon, watching with satisfaction as it crumbled. His eyes lit up as he saw the fox and ladybug mechas fly past.

"You guys made it!"

"Good! Let's get the heck out of here!" Chloe declared.

"I hope I stopped that cannon," Nino mused as they headed back towards Arus. "I could barely make a dent in that thing."

* * *

"Sir, they've stolen the ladybug!"

Stoneheart gritted his teeth.

"After them!" He ordered. "Either we get those mechas or we blow this planet to cosmic dust! Fire the ion cannon!"

The Akuma soldiers exchanged quick, fearful glances.

"The ion cannon… it's damaged, sir."

Stoneheart slammed his fists down onto the control panel, startling his minions.

"Then send the drones to fix it!"

He glared at the image of the mechas zooming back towards to the planet below. They might think themselves safe for the moment, but this battle was far from over.

* * *

 **A/N - I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know it's short, and the quality isn't the greatest, but with the workload I have this is unfortunately all I have time for. I wanted to make sure you at least got to read something, and that you know I haven't given up on this story!**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	13. The Rise of Miraculous: Part 13

**A/N - Hey guys. It's been a while. And by a while, I mean around eight months or so. All I can say is that I'm sorry. Things got extremely crazy this year, and I've barely had time to write; and even when I've had time, I've had little motivation. A lot has happened in my personal life that has caused this, but I'm on the road to recovery... and part of that involves getting back into my passions (namely, writing). Now that it's summer, I hope to be writing more, but even if I don't I figured you guys at least deserve the end of the first episode!**

* * *

The paladins watched in awe as the ladybug, fox, bee, and turtle mechas gathered around the black cat, sealed behind a force field.

That is, until it let out a resounding purr, and the forcefield dissolved before their eyes.

Adrien looked on with excitement. He felt something stirring within himself, a warm feeling in his chest. A connection to the creature in front of him.

"Amazing," He breathed. Marinette observed him fondly, a small smile gracing her features. The way he was smiling, eyes lit up, hair still ruffled from the battle… she'd be lying if she said she wasn't falling hard.

Then alarms began to blare around them once more.

"Is that..." Tikki started.

"Stoneheart is entering the atmosphere," Plagg confirmed. Tikki turned to the team.

"We need Miraculous, now!"

* * *

Adrien grinned as he slid into the cockpit, the controls coming to life beneath his fingertips. It was perfect - the seat was well adjusted, he could reach everything… it was like the mecha was made for him. He couldn't help but let out a whoop of joy as he blasted off into the air, the other mechas following suit.

As they emerged from the cannon, the found the Akuma ships firing rapidly on the castle's defenses, making the forcefield shake and quiver.

* * *

"Sir, the ion cannon is back online!"

"Fire!"

* * *

For a moment, all any of them could see was flame as the blast from the ion cannon shook the particle barrier, fire curling around their protective shield.

"Man, those Akuma guys repair things _fast._ " Nino complained.

"The barrier gets weaker with every blast," Plagg informed them over the coms. "Once that shield goes down, the castle will be defenseless."

"I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while," Tikki added. "But you have to form Miraculous now or we'll all be destroyed!"

Nino gulped.

"Jeez, no pressure."

Electricity crackled as the Akuma ship fired yet another blast at the barrier. Cracks were beginning to be visible.

Marinette took a deep breath. _Time to be a leader._

"Listen up, Team Miraculous," Marinette called. "The only way to succeed is to give it all you've got. This looks bad, but we can do this! Are you with me?"

There was a moment of silence.

"Uhh… I'm nodding. Is everyone else nodding?" Nino asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Nino."

"Let's do this!" Adrien whooped.

All five took of at once, moving their mechas forward at a sprint until they had crossed the barrier.

"Um, I'm all for forming Miraculous, but… how, exactly?" Chloe pointed out.

Marinette faltered.

"That's a good question. Does anyone have any ideas of how to form Miraculous?"

"I don't see a "combine into giant robot" button anywhere on my dashboard." Nino pointed out.

The mechas continued to charge, explosions erupting all around them as the Akuma ships focused their fire on the paladins.

"This is insane!" Alya yelled. Can't they just cease fire for one minute so we can figure this out? Is that too much to ask?"

With that, she launched the fox mecha into the air, crushing an Akuma ship between its teeth, and tossing it so it slammed into another, taking them both down.

"We've got to do something." Adrien said, using the black cat's tail cannon to fire shots at the ships surrounding him.

Nino thought for a moment, before throwing his mecha into Adrien's.

"Combine!" He yelled… but nothing happened, except that his turtle mecha sent the black cat tumbling to the ground.

"Hey!" Adrien yelled back, struggling to pull the mecha to its feet.

"Okay, that didn't work."

"Quickly, paladins," Came Tikki's voice over their headsets. "Our energy levels are getting low!"

Marinette felt herself beginning to panic, but did her best to keep calm.

"Maybe if we fly in formation, we'll just combine. Take off on my cue. One, two, three, Miraculous!"

Just as she instructed, they all took off, soaring into the air, leaving the conflict behind. The higher they flew, however, the more hope she lost. Marinette could hear her teammates muttering various things, alternating between curses and encouragements.

"Hey, wait, wait, wait!" Chloe exclaimed. "I feel something!"

"I do, too!" Nino chimed in. "I feel it. It's like we're all being pulled in the same direction!"

Marinette's eyes widened as she looked up, realizing the source of her teammates' excitement.

"Uh, guys, I think I know why. Look up."

Stoneheart's ship loomed over the mechas, a far more intimidating force now that it was so close. Emerging from the ship was a purple beam of light, encasing the mechas.

"What the f-" Chloe started, but Alya cut her off.

"A tractor beam! Stoneheart's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!"

Stoneheart grinned as he viewed the screen before him, showing the mechas trapped in the tractor beam. They were finally within his grasp.

"Send a report to Emperor Hawkmoth: the day is ours."

The paladins could only watch in horror as the ion cannon finished charging, sending one huge blast towards the castle, shattering the force field once and for all.

They could hear Tikki and Plagg's groans of pain over the coms.

"Oh, no." Marinette breathed.

"I-I don't care what you say, Marinette, I'm panicking now!" Nino yelled.

"It can't end here!" Alya called back.

"This is it!" Chloe screamed.

"It's been an honor flying with you guys." Adrien said, the only one who remained calm in the face of danger… yet even he sounded defeated.

Marinette steeled herself against the fear and despair threatening to overcome her.

"No! We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up. We are the universe's only hope. Everyone is relying on us. We _can't_ fail! We _won't_ fail! If we work together, we'll win together!"

"Yeah!" The team responded. The mechas let out a roar, and suddenly the paladins felt themselves being pulled together, and not by the tractor beam. The mechas spiraled out of the pilots' control, rushing at what felt like lightspeed towards each other. There was a flash of light, and suddenly…

* * *

Stoneheart gasped, instinctively taking a step back.

"Miraculous…"

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Adrien breathed, staring in awe at his screen's display.

"We formed Miraculous!" Alya cheered.

"I'm an arm!" Nino whooped.

"How… how are we doing this?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know," Marinette confessed, "but let's get that cannon!"

Plunging the arms of Miraculous into the ship, Adrien and Nino used their mechas to tear the ion cannon apart, tossing it to the ground.

Using the black cat, Adrien drew out his baton, stabbing it through the ship, while Nino blasted it left and right. With one final swoop, the team decimated the Akuma ship. Landing on the ground, each of them watched with satisfaction as it burst into flames with a resounding _boom_.

* * *

A little while later, the team collapsed in the courtyard of the castle, completely exhausted. Tikki and Plagg rushed out to greet them, both grinning.

"Good work, paladins!" Tikki praised.

After a bit of a struggle, Chloe managed to remove her helmet, quickly moving to fix her hair.

"Thanks, gorgeous."

Marinette approached, having been the last to disembark from her mecha.

"We did it." She said with a sigh, immediately looking to Adrien. Removing his own helmet, he shot her a grin.

"Heck yeah, we did!"

"How did we do it?" Marinette continued in awe. Nino shrugged his shoulders, yanking his helmet off so he could chime in.

"I was just, like, screaming the whole time. Maybe that did it."

Marinette offered a small smile, but it soon faded. She glanced into the distance wistfully, only looking back when Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're not going to stop searching until we find your mother and father," He paused. "Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you."

Marinette didn't reply, but her smile told him everything he needed to know. The look she gave him just then made him feel more like a hero than this battle had.

Tikki stepped forward to address them.

"We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Hawkmoth won't stop until he gets these mechas."

"Good thing you paladins know what you're doing," Plagg added cheerfully. "Because you're going to have to form Miraculous again and again."

"Totally," Nino agreed instinctively, before pausing. "Wait, what?"

Chloe couldn't believe her ears.

"We barely survived forming Miraculous this one time."

"And you only had to fight one ship!" Plagg pointed out. "Wait until until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

Silence fell for a moment as the team took it in. Finally, Marinette spoke.

"Defenders of the Universe, huh? That's got a nice ring to it."

* * *

 **A/N - Again, I'm so sorry this took so long, but I hope you enjoyed it! As much as it may not seem like it, this story still means the world to me and I want to make it the best I can.**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabether (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	14. Some Assembly Required: Part 1

**A/N - Hey again! I've had the day to hammer out another chapter, so I figured I might as well get it to you. You might have noticed that I've re-uploaded chapter seven about three times now, and that's because I wanted to change a detail in the chapter to reflect coming events... and then I was also informed that I had mentioned "lions" a few times instead of "mechas" so I changed that too.**

 **Ugly-Duckling123 - Thanks for pointing out my mistake! Sometimes it's hard for me to keep things straight since this is a crossover, and I find myself saying "lion" instead of "mecha", "galra" instead of "Akuma", etc.**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - Patience, my friend! Hawkmoth will come about, all in good time. In Miraculous the characters don't get to confront Hawkmoth for a long time... why should they in this story? (I'm mostly messing with you, but a Hawkmoth confrontation will happen a little while down the road).**

 **Guest - If I answered all of those questions, there wouldn't be much story left to tell! You'll just have to see!**

 **Anyway, enjoy the story!**

* * *

It was a peaceful morning at the castle, with all of the paladins sound asleep. And who could blame them? They'd had quite the exhausting day, and now they were catching up on rest.

Nino, in particular, was loving his new quarters. He had his own room, with a bed much more comfortable than at the Garrison. Like the others, he was sleeping heavily, a smile on his face as he dreamed…

Until the alarm started blaring, and he fell out of bed, flat on his face. Tripping over his blanket, he stumbled out of the door in his pajamas.

Marinette had already been up for hours, and had even already donned her uniform after using the silly catchphrase of "spots on". She hadn't been able to sleep, despite being exhausted. Her family was out there, somewhere, and that's all she could think about. Well, not all she could think about.

Her thoughts went back and forth between her family, Miraculous, the team, and… well, and Adrien. It was ridiculous. A boy should be the last thing on her mind. But she had nearly died yesterday, and she couldn't help but think about what she'd have been leaving behind… the things she would have never said or done.

So, needless to say, when the alarm went off Marinette was ready, immediately sprinting from the room even as Tikki's voice came on over the speakers:

"Everybody up! Hawkmoth's attacking!"

Chloe, on the other hand, simply sighed blissfully, turning over in her sleep. The night before she had donned her facial mask and headphones, and was listening to her favorite playlist (including pop idols from back home). The alarm couldn't make it past the noise of Beyonce's Single Ladies, and as such Chloe remained sound asleep.

Adrien groggily opened his eyes, and they widened when he realized what was going on.

"The castle's about to be destroyed!" Came Tikki's voice, and he immediately darted from the room, only stopping to grab his jacket.

Alya's head snapped up, and she winced at the crick in her neck. She had fallen asleep on the floor in front of her computer. She quickly closed it, tucking it into her bag, and ran from the room.

"Go go go! We need Miraculous now! Hurry! We can't survive much longer!" Tikki yelled into the microphone. She glanced up at Plagg for approval, but he shook his head.

"You've got to sell it a bit more," He told her, moving to take her place behind the mic. "Oh, no! Allura is dead! Aw, it's horrible! Her head fell off! Wait! What? Her severed head is trying to speak to me! What is it, Allura's head? What are your final words?"

"Plagg," Tikki rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yes, Princess, I'm listening."

"It's over." Tikki shut off the alarms, but Plagg didn't seem to notice that the noise had stopped… or that four of the five paladins stood in front of them.

"Oh, I know! If only Miraculous had been formed," He finally looked up, beaming when he noticed the paladins. "Oh! Time!" He grabbed what appeared to be a stopwatch from the counter and stopped it. Marinette raised an eyebrow.

"I guess this isn't an actual attack." She said, as Alya rubbed her eyes and Nino looked at Plagg in confusion. Tikki glared at them.

"And it's a good thing it wasn't because it took you…" She paused, looking to Plagg for the time. "Plagg?"

He grabbed the stopwatch, examining it.

"Seventy five degrees!" He announced, before pausing. "Oh, sorry. No, this is a meat thermometer."

"However long it was, it was too long," Tikki continued, unfazed by Plagg's antics. "You must always be ready to do battle with Hawkmoth. Look at you! Only Marinette is in uniform. Adrien, Nino, Alya, where are your weapons? And where is Chloe?"

As if on cue, the doors slid open and Chloe entered the room, looking calm and refreshed. Her skin shone from the facial mask, and she had on a stylish yellow robe and bee slippers.

"Good morning, everybody," She greeted them with a yawn. "What's going on?"

"Plagg and I have been up for hours getting the Castle back in order," Tikki informed them, glaring blatantly at Chloe. "We had to run a test on the alarms, and we decided to test you as well. Guess which one failed."

"Hey!" Nino piped up with a yawn. "You got to sleep for 10,000 years, man. Monday night, I was on Earth. Now, I've flown through space, fought some evil alien named Hawkmoth, eaten goo in some weird castle. That's a lot to process in, uh... I-I don't know. What day is today?"

"It's the third quintant of the Spicolian movement," Plagg stated cheerfully. "Hump day!"

Nino stared at him blankly for a moment before continuing.

"Right. It's a lot to process."

Tikki strolled to the center of the room, the way she had the other day, centering herself in the middle of a large circle. A curtain of blue light descended on her, and her eyes closed. When they opened, glowing blue symbols appeared in the air, a hologram displaying a vast section of the universe.

"You must understand the stakes of our mission. Over the last 10,000 years, the Castle picked up distress beacons from the following locations," The team gasped as the majority of the hologram turned red. "So, we have to assume that Hawkmoth has conquered almost the entire known universe. Earth is here," She pointed to one of the only remaining blue areas. "An attack on your planet is inevitable."

"Oh no." Nino breathed.

"Exactly. Our mission is to free all of those planets. Plagg and I are getting the castle ready to leave Arus. During that time, you have to learn to form Miraculous, so we can begin fighting Hawkmoth."

"The Princess is right," Marinette told the team. "Let's get to our mechas and start training." She paused. "Wait, but first I wanted to talk to the prisoners we rescued yesterday."

"That's a negative, red," Plagg told her. "The prisoners need to remain in the cryo-replenishers until tomorrow, so they can heal."

"That's right," Tikki agreed. "Now, get to your mechas!"

The paladins raced to their respective mechas, quickly maneuvering their way through the corridors to get to their destination.

Nino, however, had a bit more trouble.

He ran straight to the room he had been assigned, standing on the platform that would lower him down. He smiled as he began the descent, believing this would be the fun part. When it reached the bottom, he would leap onto a zipline that would carry him down.

As the platform stopped, Nino made the jump, grinning with satisfaction as he latched onto the handles and began the journey down into the planet.

Until the zipline suddenly stopped.

"What's going on?" Nino looked around in confusion, shifting his weight to try to get the zipline unstuck. "How do I - ouch!"

He lost his grip, falling from the zipline onto the floor below, and watched as the handle began to slide again… without him.

"Aw, come on."

Four of the five paladins were now waiting outside, suited up and successfully inside their respective mechas. Each of them was looking back towards the castle, waiting for Nino to emerge with the turtle.

"...Should someone go in after him?" Chloe suggested.

Suddenly, the turtle mecha came flying from around the back of the castle, landing beside the others.

"Hi guys. Sorry everybody. Seriously though, can't they park these things, like, a little closer to the bridge?"

The five mechas turned to face away from the castle.

"Alright guys," Marinette said. "Let's just fly in tight formation until we're totally in sync."

"Feel the bond with your mechas and your fellow pilots," Came Tikki's voice over the coms. "Until five become one unit and you form Miraculous!"

The team let out a cheer as they took off into the sky, flying in formation, and...

 _Nothing._

They tried again. And again. And again.

 _Still nothing._

Only Nino continued to let out a cheer as they tried yet another time.

"Am I the only one who's still pretending to be excited?" He asked.

"Clearly this isn't working," Marinette stated. "Let's settle down for a bit."

"Maybe we should be building Miraculous from the ground up." Adrien suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's try literally building Miraculous, like, stacking on top of each other."

"Like a cheerleader pyramid?" Chloe scoffed.

"Do you have a better idea?" He shot back.

"It's worth a try. Let's go."

A few minutes later, they had stacked the mechas on top of each other, with the Alya and Chloe at the bottom, Adrien as one arm and Nino…

"...Nino, what are you doing?" Marinette asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You're supposed to be the arm. Next to Adrien."

"What?" He replied, confused. "No. No, no, no. I'm pretty sure that when we did it last time, I was the head. Right?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, hardly believing her ears.

"You yelled, "I'm an arm," idiot. Remember?"

"Yeah, I was yelling a lot of things."

"Nino, Marinette is the head." Adrien explained patiently.

"All the time?"

"Let's just try it my way for now." Marinette persuaded him.

"Okay, but next time I call the head."

The paladins carefully rearranged their mechas, Nino taking his proper position as the other arm, and Marinette slowly lowering herself on top.

"Okay. Arms and legs... and I'll form the head. Feel the bonds with your lions. Now, channel your energy into forming Miraculous." The paladins all closed their eyes. "Focus. Focus." After a long moment, Marinette opened her eyes. "Is everyone bonding and focusing?"

"Why was this so much easier before?" Chloe complained.

Marinette sighed.

"Let's take a break."

"Sorry to interrupt," Tikki chimed in over the coms. "But I may be able to help. Yesterday, you weren't able to form Miraculous until you were in the heat of battle."

The team thought for a moment.

"You're right," Marinette conceded.

"Perfect!" Tikki continued. "Because I need to run a diagnostic test on the castle's defenses! This should help!"

All of a sudden, the castle began firing at each of the paladins, and the mechas scattered as they tried to avoid the blasts.

"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Chloe yelled.

"Tikki, what are you doing?" Adrien called out.

"Running a diagnostic test on the Castle defenses and inspiring you! I believe in you, paladins! Let fear be your guide! Form Miraculous!"

"Forget this!" Chloe exclaimed. "I'm heading back to the castle!"

Turning around, she launched the bee mecha towards the castle… only to be bounced back by the force field now surrounding it, hitting the ground hard.

Nino did his best to dart back and forth, avoiding the lasers, but the turtle was so slow.

"Please stop! Please! Have mercy on us!"

"You think Hawkmoth is going to have mercy on you?" Tikki demanded. "He's probably on his way right now to destroy us all!"

Tikki set the computer to auto-lock, and strolled out of the room confidently. The paladins would have to learn to work together, or face the consequences.

Hawkmoth sat upon his throne, tapping his cane with his fingers.

"You have returned early," He noted, looking at the soldier kneeled before him. "Did you complete your mission?"

"Sir, the moon's crust became unstable. Staying any longer would have cost half my crew."

"Hmm, perhaps, but the half that survived would have been stronger."

The soldier looked up, confused, as Hawkmoth continued.

"Weakness is an infection. Better to cut it off than let it spread."

As if on cue, two guards approached and grabbed the soldier by his arms, dragging him from the room, ignoring his protests.

From the shadows of the throne, Volpina emerged, stepping into the light so that Hawkmoth could address her.

"What have you come up with to capture Miraculous?"

"I have been working on perfecting something," She informed him. "Someone new to Akumatize, that will strike fear into the hearts of any who stand against it. Miraculous may have surprised Stoneheart, but it will not be able to overcome our creation."

Tikki strolled into the room, Plagg at her heels.

"Are we at full power on condenser number five yet?" She asked him.

"No, still just 84 percent." He replied.

Tikki's eyes widened when she noticed four of the paladins collapsed on the couches in front of her.

"You did it! You formed Miraculous!" She exclaimed.

"No," Adrien confessed, the shame evident on his features. "The shooting stopped and the particle barrier shut down, so we just flew in."

"...What?"

"Oh, right," Plagg spoke up nervously, noticing the look on Tikki's face. "Uh, sorry, Princess. I had to turn off the castle's defenses to test the fire suppressors."

Before she could reply, one of the other doors slid open and Marinette entered the room. She stopped short when she saw her teammates relaxing.

"What are you guys doing in here? We're not taking a break."

"Marinette's right," Tikki agreed. "You should be training."

"Ugh, we've been training!" Chloe complained. "When are we going back to Earth?"

"I'm not going back to Earth until I find my family." Marinette told her firmly.

"Yeah, and besides, there won't even be an Earth if we don't figure out how to fight Hawkmoth." Adrien added, moving to stand beside Marinette, who shot him a grateful smile that made the act worthwhile.

"How are we going to fight?" Chloe asked, exasperated. "We can't even figure out how to form Miraculous."

"Well, I'm not surprised." Plagg admitted. "You know, we - I mean, the original paladins fought hundreds of battles together, side by side. They were like a pack of yalmors linked at the ears!"

"...yeah, that's definitely not us."

"During the last attack, your survival instincts forced you to work as a team, but that will only get you so far. You'll have to become a real team to have any chance of forming Miraculous and then beating Hawkmoth next time. You should try working out on the training deck."

Nino looked at Plagg curiously.

"There's a training deck?"

* * *

Volpina strolled confidently down the halls of the Akuma ship, towards the place that even the guards would not follow... the place she and Hawkmoth kept their little experiments.

She was rather fond of the arrangement they had. She would find those must suitable to be akumatized, and work to ensure that their akumatized form was as strong as they could be. Like Stoneheart, for example. He wouldn't be twice as strong without the way Volpina had pushed him.

She came to a large metal door, reinforced to ensure nothing escaped. Placing her hand on an identity scanner, the door opened. When it did, what was inside shrank back against the wall, causing Volpina to smirk. All of her pets feared her; she had made sure of that.

"I think I have the opportunity you've been waiting for. How would you like to get your revenge against Marinette?"

* * *

 **N/A - Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Just so everyone knows, I'm breaking down the sections into the episodes of Voltron. The pilot episode was The Rise of Voltron, and since that was extra long it had 13 parts. Some Assembly Required is the second episode, and will likely have only two or three parts since it is normal length. The rest of the chapters will follow suit.**

 **Anyway, thanks again for reading and please leave a comment with your thoughts and predictions!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	15. Some Assembly Required: Part 2

**A/N - Hey guys! Welcome back! This chapter and the next chapter will be relatively short, but I didn't want to combine them and make it too long so... you'll just have to deal with it! The next one should be coming fairly soon though, don't worry.**

 **rubius - Glad you're enjoying it so far! And the thought did cross my mind to have Marinette as Tikki when I first was brainstorming this story, but it wouldn't have worked with what I have planned.**

 **Guest - I know, right? I love both shows so much! I'm happy you're enjoying my combo!**

 **Ester Shadow - Here's the team bonding! I hope you enjoy it since you were looking forward to it!**

 **Ugly-Duckling123 - As always, thanks for catching my mistakes! Hope it doesn't lessen your enjoyment of the story!**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - You asked and I delivered! Here's the next chapter!**

* * *

The paladins stood nervously on the training deck, all five circled up and facing outwards. They didn't know what kind of training this would be, but after the stunt Tikki pulled with the castle's defenses they were nervous.

Plagg stood at the balcony above the training deck, fiddling with a headset. He tapped the mic, testing it.

"Two, two, one, two. Okay, listen up guys," He ordered. "The paladin code demands that you put your team members' safety above your own. "A swarm of drones is about to attack."

"Huh?" Adrien stared as small, gray, ball-shaped drones emerged from compartments and surrounded the group, one for each of them.

"It's up to each of you to do everything you can to protect the other members of your team."

"Wait, wait, wait. What's going on?" Nino asked. He gasped as a shield emerged from the band on his wrist. "Whoa. Did you guys get one of these?"

Glancing at his teammates, he found that they did indeed have similar shields.

"Get ready," Marinette warned them.

All of a sudden, the drones started firing lasers at them.

Immediately, Nino ducked, leading a shot to hit Alya in the back. As soon as she was hit, a hole opened up in the floor and she fell through.

"Protect your teammates or there will be no one there to protect you!" Plagg chided.

In his attempt to dodge another shot, Nino dropped his shield, taking a hit directly to the chest and plunging through a new hole in the floor.

Marinette, Adrien, and Chloe were the only ones left, and they slowly retreated into the center of the circle until they were back to back, each working to block the shots from the five drones.

"Increase intensity!" Plagg called out, and suddenly the shots were coming faster and faster and it became much harder to block.

"You keeping up over there, Marinette?" Chloe taunted, even as she struggled to defend herself.

"Just concentrate on keeping us safe." Marinette replied, too focused on the drones to even roll her eyes.

"Me?" Chloe scoffed. "I _own_ this drill. _You're_ the one who needs to concentrate."

"Guys-" Adrien started, but was cut off. A hole had opened up and swallowed, one of the blasts slipping past Chloe's guard and hitting him in the back.

"Oh, f-" She started, before being nailed in the head with a blast and dropping through a new hole.

With everyone else gone, Marinette didn't stand a chance, and was quickly taken out.

From his place on the balcony, Plagg facepalmed.

* * *

When they returned to the training deck, it now contained a holographic maze. The paladins looked at it from the balcony in awe, examining the detail. Only Chloe remained on the floor, in the very center of the maze.

"To form Miraculous, you must trust in each other," Plagg explained. "This ancient paladin maze will teach you that trust. Your teammate can see the walls, but you cannot. So, listen carefully. If you touch the walls, you'll get a slight shock."

As if on cue, the maze vanished. Those in the balcony could see a diagram of the layout, but Chloe couldn't see a thing. To her, it looked like there was no maze at all.

She frowned.

"Wait, who's guiding me through?"

"Take two steps forward." Came Marinette's voice over the microphone. Chloe groaned.

"Oh, no. Not Marinette. Why does she get to be the girl on the mic?"

"Now, just sit tight," Plagg told her. "You'll get your turn."

"Like I said," Marinette continued, unfazed by Chloe's remarks. "Take two steps forward, turn right, and take three steps in that direction."

Chloe turned and began to walk, and almost immediately felt the electric shock hit her as she ran into the maze.

"Ow!" She complained. "You did that on purpose!"

"You're not listening." Marinette replied, trying to keep her cool.

"You said, "Turn right"."

"But before that, I said "Take two steps forward"."

Chloe fumed, but took two steps forward… right into the maze.

"Ugh! We are switching places _right now_!"

* * *

Secure in their mechas, the paladins floated high above the ground. Marinette smiled as she gazed out of the window, taking in the unique view of the planet. The sky was beautiful - almost Earth-like, but with a variety of colors swirled in - and she couldn't even see the ground from here.

"You'll never be able to form Miraculous unless each of you has a strong bond with their mecha," Plagg told them over the coms.

"No problem," Chloe bragged. "Me and Bee are best friends for life, for real."

"Perfect! Then you won't have any issues with this next exercise. Everyone, put your mechas into a nosedive!"

The paladins complied, nervous as they were, each of them directing their mechas towards the ground below and continuing to fly.

"This is an expert-level drill that you really shouldn't attempt until you've been flying for years, but uh, we're in a bit of a rush, so here we go. Activating training helmets!"

On Plagg's command, the masks of all of the paladins became entirely black, preventing any of them from seeing a thing.

Chloe grabbed at her mask, trying to pull it off, to no avail.

"Plagg, what's happening? I can't see!"

"You must learn to see through your mecha's eyes. The goal is to pull up right before you hit the ground. Feel what the mecha feels!"

"Mine feels scared!" Chloe declared after a moment's hesitation, stopping the bee in midair and abandoning the exercise.

The other four kept going.

Adrien was grinning. He wouldn't deny that he loved this kind of thrill. It reminded him of when he and Nino used to race in his backyard.

 _Speaking of…_

"You still going, Adrien?" Nino challenged him playfully.

"You know it." Adrien shot back with a smile. "You?"

"Going? I'm speeding up!" Nino bragged, doing so as he uttered the words. The danger of hitting the ground was long forgotten as both boys got into the race.

"Oh, yeah?" Adrien copied him, and the black cat let out a growl as they matched Nino's pace.

"Must be getting close." Nino added after a moment of silence.

"Must be."

"You getting scared?" He teased.

"I'm not scared." Adrien declared…

...moments before they both crashed into the ground.

"...Ow."

"...I totally win."

Meanwhile, Alya and Marinette were still hurtling through the sky.

"What was that noise?" Alya asked nervously. "Did they crash?"

Receiving no response from her best friend, Alya gave into her fear and pulled away, slowing the fox so that she floated in midair.

Marinette was the only one left, her eyes closed beneath her mask as she focused on being one with the ladybug.

 _Let me in,_ she pleaded silently.

As if on cue, the ladybug let out a low hum, and Marinette's eyes shot open.

What she saw made her gasp aloud… because she could _see_. Her vision was sharp and tainted red, and she witnessed the landscape flying by as she soared closer to the ground.

These weren't her own eyes she was seeing through. They were the ladybug's.

With a grin spreading across her face and a newfound sense of determination, Marinette focused on the task at hand. She approached the ground at lightning speed… and pulled up right before she hit it.

"I think I'm getting this." She breathed in amazement.

"Excellent, Marinette!"

* * *

Back in the castle, the five teammates sat cross-legged in a circle in the center of the training deck. Eyes closed, each of them wore a headset that would allow them to project their thoughts into images for the others to see.

"Now the most important part of paladin training is being able to meld your minds and focus on one thing: Miraculous," Plagg explained quietly. "Everything else has to fade away."

Images flickered to life in front of each of the paladins as their thoughts became open and their minds came together.

From Adrien's headset came an image of a house; not any house, but the cabin he had escorted them to in the desert. In the window there was silhouette of a person, a figure who hadn't stepped foot in that cabin for many years. And yet Adrien thought of them still.

From Chloe came an image that the team might not have expected. Knowing Chloe, they figured her thoughts would revolve around shopping or her rivalries or something shallow. Instead, her mind brought forth a portrait of a wealthy family - her own family. All together, posed for the picture, they were smiling and happy. She sighed instinctively, a wistful expression on her face.

From Alya, there came an image similar to Chloe's. It was her own family huddled together in front of the fireplace at during the holiday season, Marinette present as well, as they exchanged gifts and listened to music. She wondered when she would get to see them again, and if they would be back in time for the holidays.

From Nino, a brief image of Alya flickered to life. His face turned red and he quickly refocused his attention, filling his mind with meaningless things. The new image projected displayed a variety of food, with Bob Marley playing in the background.

Then there was Marinette. From her came an image they all would have expected; her parents.

"This technique will be essential every time you form Miraculous. So, relax and open your mind. No walls, no secrets between paladins." As Plagg spoke, each of the images transformed into the paladins' respective mechas, and the animals drifted towards the center of the circle - towards each other.

All except Marinette, whose image still displayed her parents, refusing to shift into the ladybug.

"Come on, everyone, clear everything," Plagg encouraged them. "Now focus on forming your mecha. Bring your mechas together and… and form Miraculous." He glanced worriedly at Marinette, who was still struggling. "Keep your minds open, work together. One to go!"

"Marinette, stop thinking of your parents!" Chloe finally snapped, opening her eyes to glare at the other girl. Marinette's eyes shot open, fury evident in her features.

"I wasn't! You people keep rooting around in my head hole!" She retorted angrily.

"I thought we were open," Nino spoke up. "You can look in my head hole."

"Everyone has to be able to look in everyone's head holes! Clear your minds!" Plagg commanded. The paladins reluctantly closed their eyes, each forming their mechas once again. This time, Marinette successfully projected a ladybug, sending it towards the center of the circle with the rest of the paladins. "Good! Almost there! Now form Miraculous! Yes!"

The mechas met in the center of the circle, connecting with each other to form Miraculous. The ladybug was just about to settle on top, completely the figure… when it flickered back into an image of Marinette's parents.

"Marinette!" Chloe groaned.

Marinette yanked the headset off her head, uncaring that her hair had become extremely ruffled by the action.

"I'm done with this," She declared angrily. "Look, I don't like everyone grubbing around in my head."

"Oh, come on, Marinette," Nino said. "We're starting to get the hang of this." Marinette glanced towards Alya, who remained silent. She was glad that her best friend, at least, wouldn't speak against her.

"I'm just… "I'm just tired, okay?"

"Okay," Marinette looked up to find Adrien gazing at her with understanding and sympathy. "Let's take a break."

Plagg nodded, fetching water bottles to bring down to the paladins. They took them gratefully, immediately taking long sips.

"You have been working hard," He noted. "Maybe it's time to relax a little."

The doors open, and all six looked up as Tikki entered the room. She stopped short when she saw the paladins sitting on the floor.

"What are you doing lying around?" She demanded. "You're supposed to be training!"

"Just resting a bit," Plagg explained. "You know, you can't push too hard."

"What do you mean, "can't push too hard"? Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!"

* * *

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was actually a bit difficult to write, as I had to describe so many scenes and actions of the characters (not my strong suit). Anyway, the next one should be coming very soon!**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	16. Some Assembly Required: Part 3

**A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! This is the third and final part of Some Assembly Required, than we'll move on to the next episode/chapter of our tale. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **Anon - You should definitely watch Voltron! It's an amazing show, and if you watch it it'll be more fun to read this story and see which characters take on which roles and qualities. And thanks so much! I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

 **SonicePrime972 - Yep! A Voltron AU through and through! Hope you enjoy it, though!**

* * *

"Get up, you lazy lumps! It's time you faced the Gladiator!"

The paladins obeyed without question, too intimidated by Tikki's anger to argue. They put their water bottles to the side and circled up, while Plagg and Tikki retreated to the control room.

"You'll need your armor for this one." Tikki called back to them as she and Plagg took their places on the balcony. "Be prepared!"

One by one, the paladins heeded her words and transformed.

"Spots on!"

"Claws out!"

"Stripes on!"

"Ears up!"

"Shell out!"

As soon as they had on their armor, they drew their respective weapons, nervous but ready for the fight to come.

"To defeat the Gladiator, five paladins must fight as one!" Plagg announced. With the press of a button, the middle of the floor slid open and the Gladiator rose up on a platform.

It was a robotic creature, tall and lanky, with a humanoid figure. It's colors matched that of the castle, and it wielded a a long staff with electricity crackling at the tip. As soon as the platform stopped moving, it launched itself into action, hurtling towards Nino.

 _The poor boy just wasn't ready._

Drawing his shield, he was able to block the first strike, but the Gladiator used the staff to sweep him off his feet. Nino hit the ground, hard. He let out a yelp of pain as the Gladiator slammed the staff into his stomach, giving him a shock.

Alya rushed to Nino's aid, only to be blocked by the Gladiator. It slashed at her, and she blocked the blow with her flute. She almost expected it to snap in half, but it held just as good as a sword. The Gladiator took her moment of shock as an opportunity to strike her below the ribs, sending her tumbling to the ground next to Nino.

Chloe raced over, eager to prove herself. She hurled her trombo towards the Gladiator, delighted when she noticed the string lighting up with a charge. She knew that whoever touched it would receive quite the shock…

...so when the Gladiator stopped the trompo with its foot, Chloe was the one who was shocked, in an entirely different sense.

She yanked it back, attempting to knock it off of its feet, but it nimbly stepped out of her reach. As soon as the weapon was back in her hands, she launched it again, smiling as she caught the hand of the Gladiator… until it took hold of the string and yanked her towards it, jamming her with the staff. She yelped as she felt the shock, dropping to the ground.

It turned to Marinette, and she drew her yo-yo, swinging it in a circle to prepare for the attack. And yet when the Gladiator attacked, her vision went dark, and she was launched into another hazy memory.

 _...the sound of laughter as she took blow after blow, each from the same source._

" _Pathetic," the voice rang out, taunting her. "You really are worth nothing, aren't you?"_

Meanwhile, Adrien watched as Marinette froze, looking dazed and distracted, not even noticing that the Gladiator was about to strike her down where she stood.

Time seemed to slow down as Adrien began to run, faster and faster, each step taking him closer to Marinette.

As the Gladiator's staff came down to strike Marinette, Adrien threw himself in between them, blocking the blow with his own staff.

"Marinette, are you okay?" He called out. When she didn't respond, he made the mistake of looking back. The Gladiator took the opportunity to slam him in the stomach with its staff, tossing him backwards into Marinette, sending the pair tumbling to the floor. Adrien quickly maneuvered himself so that he was the one who hit the floor, absorbing the impact of the fall with a groan as his head smacked against the tiles.

"A… Adrien?"

He opened his eyes to find Marinette peering down at him in confusion. Her eyes were still unfocused, and she was just beginning to return to herself.

That's when they both became hyper aware of the position they were in.

In making sure he had been the one to hit the ground, Adrien had ensured that Marinette would land on top of him so she wouldn't get hurt… not stopping to consider the repercussions.

Because now that she was on top of him, he found that he couldn't breathe. Not so long as her bright blue eyes met his, not so long as he could feel her so close to him.

Judging by her expression, Adrien was hoping she might be feeling the same.

"Ahem!" Chloe interrupted. Marinette's eyes widened, and she quickly scrambled off of him. Adrien felt the loss immediately, and was reluctant to move now that Marinette was walking away.

Until she turned back and offered him a hand up, a small smile gracing her features. He took it gratefully, wincing with pain as he was forced to move.

Tikki stormed out onto the training deck, Plagg following close behind her.

"That combat simulator was set at a level fit for a child!" She snapped. "You're not even close to working as a team, let alone ready to face Hawkmoth!"

* * *

The paladins filed into the dining room, gratefully slumping into their seats. Finally, they were getting a break.

"Ahoy, young paladins!" Plagg called cheerfully, handing them each a plate of food. "I've whipped up a big batch of focusing food. After this meal, you'll be forming Miraculous six times a movement and twice on the astral conflux!"

None of them knew what that meant, but that was the last thing on their minds. They gazed curiously at the food, which seemed to be almost entirely cheese-based with a side of cookies.

"Smells great, Plagg," Marinette told him with a smile, picking up her utensils. "Thanks."

Just as they started to dig in, Plagg whipped a remote out from behind his back, slamming a button with his fists.

Suddenly, handcuffs formed around the wrists of the paladins, each of them now attached to the person next to them. Adrien and Alya were lucky enough to be on the ends, but Marinette, Chloe, and Nino were stuck in the middle.

Chloe was furious.

"What the f-"

"I saw a lot of solid individual performances today, but you're still struggling to work as a team," Plagg explained. "So welcome to the final bonding exercise of the day!"

Nino glanced to his left, where Alya sat at the end, then to his right, where Chloe sat in the middle. He tried pulling away from either of them, but the handcuffs held tight.

"Plagg," Nino warned. "I want you to think about what you're doing."

The boy just laughed it off.

"Oh, this one's a classic! You get to feed each other! Isn't it great?"

* * *

Volpina waltzed down the hallway, yanking the boy along with her.

She believed his name was Max… but then again, she really didn't care. He was nothing to her but someone to be Akumatized.

"Where are we going? I don't… I don't want to be the Gamer again!" He protested, trying to worm his way out of her grip, to no avail. Volpina simply laughed.

"You really think you have a choice?" She taunted him. "Besides… this is your chance to get revenge after that worthless little girl beat you the first time."

"I don't care about that!" He insisted. "You and Hawkmoth forced me to fight Marinette! I don't want to be part of your-"

Max was cut off as she shoved him roughly through the door in front of them, tumbling to the ground. He looked up, and found himself face to face with-

"No! Not you… not again!"

Hawkmoth only smiled, as a black butterfly formed in his palm.

"Fly, my little akuma, and evilize him."

* * *

"Ow!" Nino cried out. He had almost been able to get a bite of his food, before Chloe yanked at his hand. She ignored him, simply picking up her own spoon… and in the process forcing Marinette's hand into her food.

"Oh, great," Chloe complained. "Now you've defiled my food!"

"It's your fault!" Marinette shot back.

Tikki groaned from where she sat at the head of the table, eating freely without any restraints.

"Do Earthlings ever stop complaining?" They all looked up at her, offended.

"Can't you just give us a break?" Adrien pleaded, beginning to get angry. "Everyone has been working really hard today."

"Yeah!" Chloe stood up defiantly. "We're not some prisoners for you to toy with, like… like…" She struggled to finish the phrase.

"Like a bunch of toy prisoners!" Nino finished for her.

"Yes! Thank you, Nino!"

"You do not yell at the Princess!" Plagg reprimanded them.

"Oh, Princess of what?" Alya scoffed. "We're the only ones out here and she's no Princess of ours!"

Suddenly, she was smacked in the face with food. Glancing up, she found Tikki glaring at her, having just hurled her dinner at Alya. Nino's eyes narrowed.

"Go loose, Alya!"

He grabbed her plate of food and chucked it at Tikki, only for it to be intercepted by Plagg… who quickly lobbed food at all of them until they had each been hit.

"Oh, it's on now!" Marinette declared.

It was a while later when they finally settled down, each of them covered with food and drink… but each of them laughing and having fun as well.

"Do you see what you're doing?" Tikki cried gleefully. "You're finally working together as one! As a team!"

"Hey, she's right!" Marinette said with a smile.

"Yeah, I… actually don't hate you right now." Chloe admitted.

"You guys thinking what I'm thinking?" Nino asked them with a grin.

"Let's go form Miraculous!" Alya cheered.

"Yeah!" The paladins agreed.

"...actually, I was thinking dessert. But yeah! Let's do it!"

* * *

It wasn't long before the paladins were sitting in the cockpits of their mechas, ready to take off on Marinette's command.

"Everyone ready to do this?" She asked.

"Roger that!" Nino saluted.

"It's on!" Alya chimed in.

"I was born ready!" Chloe bragged.

"Yes, m'lady!" Adrien finished, grinning ear to ear. Marinette blushed.

"Then let's go!"

The mechas let out a roar, and the paladins whooped as they felt themselves pulled together to form something much greater than themselves… something Miraculous.

Tikki smiled.

"I told you I could get them to do it," She told Plagg. "They just needed a common enemy."

"It's true," He agreed. "Like the old proverb says, 'A man can be driven to do anything if a beautiful woman is just really, really mean to him'."

* * *

"Man, that was so cool!" Alya exclaimed. The paladins had returned from forming Miraculous and were relaxing together on a group of couches. "I'm so charged up, I don't know if I'm going to be able to sleep tonight!"

"Not me," Chloe yawned. "When my head hits the pillow, it's gonna be lights out."

"Nino plopped down between the two girls, wrapping an arm around Alya.

"I just want you to know that I realized when we were in Miraculous, we're brothers, man. You know?" He grabbed Chloe too, pulling her in for a hug, albeit reluctantly on her part. "Like, we're totally connected. No secrets, no barriers, no nothing. Brothers all the way. I love you guys."

Adrien smiled at Nino's antics, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder. She looked up at him with a soft smile that stole his breath away. He couldn't help but give a grin in return.

"G-force mess with your head a little bit?" Alya teased Nino, nudging him with her elbow. He suddenly realized that he still had his arm around her, and quickly withdrew it, rubbing the back of his head with a fierce blush.

"Y-yeah, maybe a little. It's been a tough few days."

The team began to say their goodnights, each departing for their own quarters. Except…

"You going to bed, Marinette?" Adrien prompted her, noticing she wasn't getting up to leave.

"In a minute." She replied quietly, forcing a smile.

"Good work today," He told her. "We're really coming together."

And with that, he left.

As soon as all her fellow paladins departed, the smile dropped as she pulled a picture from her pocket - a picture of her parents.

 _Where are you_?

Meanwhile, Hawkmoth grinned at his new creation.

"This Akuma will allow us to destroy the paladins. Then, Miraculous will be ours."

* * *

 **A/N - Hey, hope you liked that chapter, and enjoyed the peace our team got to experience... because it won't last long!**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	17. Return of the Gamer: Part 1

**A/N - Hey guys, welcome back to the story! I don't know about the rest of you but school has started back up for me, and boy does it make it hard to find time to write! Hopefully the wait wasn't too arduous, and we're now moving on to the next chapter/episode of our tale! Enjoy!**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - Haha thanks! Hope my story will ultimately continue to make you happy :)**

 **chocopankacakes - I know, it takes a long time to get through an episode's worth of writing! I like to split it up to make sure it's not too long of a read. The first episode was longer than all of the rest, so they should be much shorter from now on, more like three chapters per episode. I'm so glad you're enjoying my story!**

 **UPDATED: Thanks to Ugly-Duckling123 for pointing out my continuity errors. Sometimes I get so excited to put out content for you guys that I slip up! All fixed now :)**

* * *

Hawkmoth stood tall at the head of the ship, staring out the window into the inky void that he knew would bend to his will once he conquered the powers of the Miraculous.

Speaking of…

"Dark wings, rise!" He commanded, letting the transformation overtake him.

"Sire, the Gamer is almost to Arus." He turned to see Volpina standing in the doorway.

"My power gives me so much strength, I could fight the paladins myself."

"There is no need," Volpina assured him with a smile. "Our creation will destroy them and capture the Miraculous for you. Then, the most powerful weapon in the universe will be ours."

* * *

"Great job training today, everyone," Adrien complimented his teammates as they entered the dining hall together, sweaty and exhausted from multiple hours of work. "We're really getting the hang of Miraculous."

"Seriously, how far do you think my bee kicked that broken alien ship?" Chloe asked. "It must have been, like, a mile!"

Alya rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, that'll come in handy when the Hawkmoth challenges Miraculous to a game of soccer."

"Hey, I did something cool, and you can't handle it," Chloe replied nonchalantly. "I get it."

"Dude, your kick made us lose our balance," Nino pointed out as he moved to sit down at the table. "We fell."

"That falling part was Alya's fault," Chloe retorted.

"Hey!"

"Alright, save your energy for fighting Hawkmoth," Adrien scolded them.

They turned as the door behind them slid open and Plagg entered, bringing with him a tray of what they assumed was lunch.

"Hello guys," He greeted them cheerfully. "How was the Miraculous workout?"

"We're getting there," Adrien replied. "Are you and Tikki almost done fixing the castle so we can leave this planet? We feel like we're sitting ducks here on Arus."

The other paladins nodded in agreement. It was only a matter of time before they were attacked again, and they all knew it.

"Just about," Plagg assured them. "In the meantime, to get your minds off those duck seats you're worried about, I made you guys an authentic ancient paladin lunch!"

He whipped the cover off of the tray of food to reveal… the most unappealing dish any of them had ever seen.

"Dude, you just got me hooked on that goo and now you're switching it up?" Nino complained, eyeing the food nervously. It looked like it contained some sort of large worms submerged in green sauce.

"This is packed with nutrients."

"It smells disgusting!"

"I know! That's how you know it's healthy!"

The other paladins just groaned, backing away from the dish.

"Dude, we're on a planet with fresh herbs and spices. I'm gonna head to the kitchen and spice some things up for you all." Plagg and the team looked at him in surprise, but Nino just shrugged. "Mama Lahiffe is a totally awesome cook, I picked up a few things back on Earth."

With that, Nino strolled casually out of the room, whistling a tune as he went.

"Where's Marinette?" Plagg asked.

"She's probably checking on those prisoners we rescued from Hawkmoth," Adrien replied. "She told me that you said they'd be waking up soon in the infirmary."

"Indeed they will be."

Adrien began to get up from the table, only for Plagg to approach him with a spoonful of worm goo.

"Open the hatch! Food mecha coming in!"

"No. Just… no." Adrien turned and headed for the door.

"You don't know what you're missing!"

* * *

Marinette sat on the floor beside the healing pods in the infirmary, waiting nervously for the prisoners to wake up. She glanced up as Adrien entered the room.

"You seem anxious." He noted, coming to sit beside her.

"These aliens we saved know something about my family. They have to."

"I hope so," Adrien paused. "When we were on the ship, you were having flashbacks, weren't you? What did you see?"

"It was a series of images, and it was all very confusing," Marinette admitted. "There was a padded cell, a girl in orange, a man in a gray mask with butterflies… and a fight."

"A fight?"

Marinette furrowed her brow, trying her best to focus.

"I think… I think I fought someone. I don't know. I'm not sure I want to find out."

They both looked up as one of the healing pods opened, and the first alien stepped out.

"Maybe you will anyway."

* * *

Nino sauntered back into the dining hall, proudly presenting his dishes to Chloe and Alya, who immediately dug in while Plagg looked on bitterly.

Tikki walked in, coming to stand beside her partner.

"Looks like they enjoy the paladin lunch!" She commented. Plagg huffed.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"I just got the final nebulon booster working," She informed everyone cheerfully. "We should be able to leave Planet Arus tomorrow and take the fight to Hawkmoth!"

Suddenly, the alarms began to blare, startling the paladins.

Tikki immediately pulled up a computer screen displaying security footage of the front of the castle… only to find that the safety threat was a small creature hiding behind a rock outside of the castle door.

"What is _that_?" Chloe asked with disdain. The creature was odd looking, standing upon two legs, yet with some resemblance to a salamander or snail. It had two curved, brown horns and colorful markings on its arms and face.

"I don't know what it is," Tikki admitted. "Maybe it's a local Arusian. He's approaching the castle."

They continued to look on as the creature scampered from rock to rock, creeping closer to the doors.

"Aw!" Nino exclaimed.

"Doesn't look too dangerous." Alya commented.

"You never know," Chloe said, drawing her weapon.

"No," Tikki scolded her. "Our people believe in peace first. Let's go welcome them."

She turned and walked purposefully from the room.

"That's adorable." Alya said with a grin. She and Nino raced to catch up with Tikki.

"Maybe we can knit him a little sweater!" Nino exclaimed.

Chloe stood still for a moment, contemplating, before taking her weapon with her anyway.

"I'm not taking any chances."

* * *

The castle doors slid open, and Plagg, Tikki, Chloe, Nino, and Alya emerged into the sunlight. Spotting them, the creature let out a shriek and leaped into the nearest bush.

"We know you're there," Tikki called to him, tone calm and warm. "No harm will come to you."

The creature leaped from the bushes into their path, brandishing a sword.

"Aw!" Nino cooed.

"Wait!" Chloe said, sticking an arm out in front of the princess. "He could be dangerous. Drop your weapons!"

"No one takes Klaizap's weapon!" The creature replied defensively, its voice squeaky and altogether adorable.

"Chloe, put that away!" Tikki commanded, before turning back to the creature. "Please, kind sir, accept my most humble apologies."

Seeming to accept, the creature stood tall and began to speak once more.

"I am Klaizap, bravest of our warriors. Our village is over Gazrel Hill. I come seeking answers as to why the Animal Goddess is angered with her followers."

"Followers?" Plagg questioned.

"Animal goddess?" Nino echoed.

Klaizap nodded, gesturing to a carving of Miraculous on a nearby rock.

"The one the ancients spoke of."

"What makes you think she's angered?" Tikki asked.

"Destruction is everywhere," He exclaimed. "In the past few suns, fire has rained from the heavens and a giant has danced in the sky."

Nino leaned over to Alya.

"I think he's talking about Miraculous." He whispered.

"Yeah, I got that." Alya replied, rolling her eyes.

"You have not angered the Animal Goddess," Tikki assured Klaizap. The creature paused.

"How can you be certain?"

"Because I am Tikki, and this is _my_ castle."

Klaizap gasped, immediately bowing.

"Animal Goddess!"

Tikki smiled.

"Please, bravest warrior, take us to your village so that we may meet our neighbors."

"What about our mission to get off of this planet and defeat Hawkmoth?" Alya asked.

"Part of the paladins' mission is to spread peace and diplomacy. Arus has been our host for 10,000 years. These people deserve our thanks. So, come on - let us show it to them."

* * *

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter of the story! I'll try to get the next one out as soon as possible! In the meantime, I just put out another Destiel one-shot if any of you are interested in checking that out. I also have a couple of Klance one-shots for my Voltron fans, as well as fics for Glee and An Unfortunate Fairy Tale.**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	18. Return of the Gamer: Part 2

**A/N - Hey, welcome back to the story! I'm really excited for you guys to read this chapter... let's just say there's an unexpected plot twist early on. I wanted to thank all of you for sticking with the story and putting up with my lack of a stable update schedule and the occasional errors in my chapters. I never expected the story to receive the amount of attention it has gotten, and it inspires me to keep writing!**

 **Ugly-Duckling123 - Thanks for pointing it out! Every time you point out a mistake like that, I go back and fix it. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate it, and I hope you enjoy the story despite the mistakes! :)**

* * *

Marinette carefully handed one of the aliens a bowl of warm soup, as Adrien continued to help the rest emerge from their healing pods.

"So, how long were you held captive by Hawkmoth?" She asked, trying to conceal her burning curiosity.

"Some for years," He replied quietly. "Decades, maybe. It's hard to tell. Time becomes a blur."

"Then you must have been there when me, my father, and mother arrived. Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng?"

"I never knew their names," He admitted. "But I certainly remember the other three Earthlings that arrived with you, Champion."

"Three?" Adrien asked, walking over to join them. "I thought it was just you and your parents?"

"I… I thought so too, unless…" Marinette paused to think. "What did the other Earthling look like?"

The alien thought for a moment before answering.

"This Earthling was younger than you, much younger. Skin that was tan and hair that was brown, tied up into two ponytails."

"Oh god," Marinette let out a strangled cry. "No. Not Manon. It can't be."

"Who's Manon?" Adrien asked her, confused.

"Manon is a young girl I babysat, practically like a sister to me. She must be around 12 now. She always wanted to explore the stars, to be like me. She wanted to go on the trip with us so badly… she must have snuck on board. Oh, no…"

The alien placed a hand on her shoulders.

"I am sorry, Champion. I would not have known this was a friend of yours."

"Champion?" Adrien asked. "Why do you call her that?"

"She hasn't told you?" The alien looked at her in surprise.

"I… I don't remember." She confessed.

"Unbelievable," The alien exclaimed. "You were a legendary gladiator, undefeated in the ring. You defeated an infamous Akuma gladiator known as the Gamer. That was the day you earned the name "Champion." I was there, as was the young Earthling."

Marinette's eyes widened as he continued.

"We were all prisoners, forced to fight for the entertainment of Hawkmoth. That day, we were set to fight the Gamer, a vile beast many thought could never be defeated. Slaughter awaited us all. This "Manon" was the first of us sent to fight. But fate had other plans. You were so thirsty for blood, you injured your fellow Earthling."

"You attacked Manon?" Adrien was shocked, and Marinette looked equally shaken. "Why?"

"No…" She shook her head, clearly upset. "It can't be true."

"I was there," The alien replied. "We all were."

Adrien could already see the tears beginning to form in Marinette's eyes, which was to be expected after that kind of shock. What he didn't expect was for her to throw herself in his arms, burying her head in his shoulder.

He was taken aback, but slowly wrapped his arms around her, hoping that she couldn't feel his heart beating loud and fast. The aliens looked on in pity as he rubbed her back gently.

"After… after Manon was injured, where was she taken?" Adrien asked the alien as Marinette pulled back, wiping her eyes.

"I know not."

"I don't believe it," Marinette declared. "There's got to be more to the story. I-I couldn't have hurt Manon." She paused a moment, seeming to come to a realization. "Wait. That ship we were held captive on crash-landed on this planet. They'll have logs of prisoners, some information."

Just like that, she was sprinting out of the room, leaving Adrien no choice but to run after her.

"I'm coming with you!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the other paladins found themselves in the center of the small, Arusian village, looking on in delight as the little creatures held a festival. Nino and Alya sat with a group of Arusians, eagerly partaking in their feast. Chloe stood to the side, avoiding the advances of the aliens, who were fascinated by her naturally blonde hair. A slightly larger Arusian approached Tikki and Plagg, arms outstretched.

"Oh, Animal Goddess, I, King of the Arusians, formally beg your forgiveness," He greeted her. "Please have mercy on us and accept our traditional Dance of Apology as atonement for our wrongdoings."

The King clapped his hands twice, and another Arusian came sprinting over until he was in front of them, quickly striking a pose.

"Commence Dance of Apology! Hoorah!"

The paladins gathered back together as music began to play and the alien in front of them began moving in a strange manner that they assumed was supposed to be dancing.

"Please, there's no need for this." Tikki assured them. The King's eyes widened in fear.

"Moontaw, halt!" He commanded. The music cut off abruptly, and the alien froze mid-pose. "The Goddess has refused our apology! Start the sacrificial fire! We must throw ourselves in!"

Immediately, the Arusians began to panic, screaming and running in different directions as they struggled to light a torch.

"No!" Tikki called desperately as the others looked on in horror. "No sacrifices!"

The King turned back to her.

"So… we may proceed with the dance?"

"That's a better alternative."

As if nothing had happened, the music began again and Moontaw resumed his position. He did a twirl, then another, and a few more of his other strange movements, before ending with a bow that all of the others surrounding him copied.

"Please, please, rise. Thank you for that, but I am not a great being worthy of your worship. I accidentally put you all in danger. It is I who should be apologizing to you."

The Arusians gasped, but didn't interrupt her.

"I am Tikki, this is Plagg, and these are the Miraculous paladins. Although we originally came from different worlds... and have very, very, very different traditions, we wish to live alongside you as friends."

The King rose to his feet.

"But the mighty robotic angel... has it not come to destroy us because of our immoral ways?"

"Miraculous? No. In fact, that mighty robot is here to protect you. Let it be known that Miraculous will protect every innocent being throughout the universe!"

Plagg gazed at Tikki with a warm smile as the Arusians cheered for her. She was truly born to be a leader. The Arusians gathered around them, running around playfully with Alya and Nino as they laughed together. Chloe stood in the background, until an Arusian leaped up and grabbed her in a hug.

"I don't usually hug strangers, but, uh... well, you are cuddly." She patted the alien on the head awkwardly. It _was_ pretty cute - so she was taken aback when it answered in a very deep, very male voice.

"Thank you."

* * *

Marinette and Adrien stood nervously outside of the crashed ship. Adrien glanced back at their mechas. The ladybug and black cat sat silently behind them, as if they were keeping watch.

"Are you ready?" He asked her. She nodded.

"Yeah, but we should probably transform. Just in case."

"You're probably right. Claws out!"

"Spots on!"

Transforming never got old, and as far as Adrien was concerned, it never would. He loved feeling the magic course through his body as his clothes were replaced with his suit.

What he loved even more, however, was getting to catch the tail end of Marinette's transformation after he finished his own.

Adrien gazed in awe as the pink light swirled around her, making her look almost angelic… even more than usual, that is. She clearly enjoyed the process too, a rare grin gracing her features as a mask appeared to cover the upper half of her face.

He must not have been quick enough at hiding his lovesick smile, because Marinette smirked at him as she finished.

"You good, kitten?"

They both froze, and Marinette's face went red as her suit. She was suddenly very grateful for the mask.

 _Oh god, why had she called him that?_

After a moment of pause, Adrien chuckled, and Marinette's stress melted into relief.

"I'm absolutely purrr-fect," He replied cheekily, and she rolled her eyes. "How about you, m'lady? Are you ready?"

Marinette took a deep breath, before nodding.

"I'm ready," She glanced at the crashed ship towering above them. "While I was in the Ladybug I caught a glimpse of the top of the ship. Looks like there's an opening up there from when it crashed. That might be our best entrance."

Adrien simply bowed, gesturing for her to get in front of him.

"Ladybugs first."

Marinette just smiled, moving to get into position. Pulling out her yo-yo, she began to swing it rapidly in circles, eyeing the ship for something to latch on to. Her eyes finally fell upon a large hunk of metal debris that was sticking out from the side of the ship on the level they needed to get to.

Praying she knew what she was doing, she let the yo-yo fly. Just as she planned, it hooked itself around the debris. With a final wave at Adrien, she let herself be pulled into air, flying through the sky at a speed that sent her head spinning. Reaching the top, she perched nimbly on the debris, before leaping up to the top of the ship. Just as she'd seen, there was a large portion of the ship that had caved in on itself, leaving a gaping hole on the roof that plunged down into the floors below.

Marinette glanced back just in time to watch Adrien vault onto the roof next to her, his staff extending to a height she hadn't known was possible, then immediately shrinking once its owner landed on solid ground.

Strolling up beside her, Adrien eyed the interior of the ship warily. He wasn't sure how he felt about going inside a place that, last they had seen it, was swarming with Akumas.

Marinette felt no such doubts. She knew this place had the answers she was seeking. It had to. Without a second glance, she leapt into the the darkness, Adren right behind her.

They landed on the floor with a loud thunk, each miraculously managing to keep their footing on the uneven ground. Exchanging a quick look, the two approached an elevated platform, with an extensive array of equipment and a large screen that was lopsided with cracks all across it from the crash..

"This looks like the master control panel," Adrien observed. "But it looks like it needs something to activate it."

Marinette's eyes roamed over the table, until she came across an area shaped like a handprint.  
"Maybe this is it?" She guessed, moving towards the table, hand outstretched.

"Maybe," Adrien started. "But you'd probably have to be an Akuma, or something like it, to get it to -" He stopped short as Marinette placed her hand over the spot, and the control board came to life. "Whoa. I can't believe it. How did you get that to work?"

Marinette was quiet for a moment, heart beating fast. How _had_ she gotten it to work? What did that say about her? Had something been done to her as a prisoner?

She put the thoughts aside, instead pulling out her yo-yo and opening it to display a screen, beginning to sync it with the control panel.

"My parents and Manon's whereabouts must be logged in here somewhere. Once I download this information, I'll find some way to decode it back at the Castle."

Adrien simply nodded. He knew not to disturb Marinette as she worked. He was gazing nervously around the empty ship when he heard a noise.

Looking through a hole in the side of the ship, Adrien gasped at what he saw. High in the sky, something had emerged from out of nowhere, a flaming object that was headed straight towards the planet's surface… straight towards them. He couldn't make out the details, except for an Akuma insignia on its side.

"Oh no."

"What is it?" Marinette asked absently.

"Something just entered the atmosphere. I'm not sure what it is, but it's big, it's Akuma, and it's coming right for us. We gotta go!"

Adrien grabbed Marinette's arm but she yanked it free.

"I'm only 15 percent done. I'm not going anywhere."

Adrien looked back up at the sky, where the object continued on its trajectory right towards them. Then back to Marinette, who remained focused on her task.

If they left, Marinette might never find her family, or Manon. But if they stayed, she might not even be alive to do so.

He took a deep breath.

"Marinette, I'm sorry."

Darting forward, he scoped the girl up in his arms before extending his staff, vaulting them both out of the ship.

"No!" She screamed, but Adrien didn't let go.

It hurt so much to ignore her cries of pain, her demands that he bring her back, but he cared about her safety more. He wouldn't lose her. Not again.

He placed a hand to his ear, activating his coms.

"Team, come in! We need backup!"

* * *

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I really wanted Manon to be part of the story, so I decided to add that little part! And come on, I'm sure we can all imagine Manon sneaking onto a space ship - it's definitely something that would happen. She is, of course, quite a bit older in this fic than she is in the show - hope you don't mind!**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	19. Return of the Gamer: Part 3

**A/N - Hey guys! I know it's been a while, so thanks for sticking with the story!**

 **GuardianAngel1234567 - Thank you! You always leave such awesome reviews, and it really inspires me to keep writing!**

* * *

"Team, come in! We need backup! Hello?"

Tikki looked up sharply as a voice came in over the com system. All the other paladins did the same, freezing in the middle of their conversations with the Arusians to listen.

"Adrien?"

"Where is everyone?" Was his only reply.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked.

She got her answer as they all heard a loud rumbling. Looking up at the sky, the villagers gasped at the fiery object that was hurtling towards the planet.

"Oh no," Alya breathed. "We have to get to our mechas!"

The Arusians started to panic, all screaming and running in different directions.

"Everyone get inside and stay down!" Tikki called to them, and they hastily began to obey.

"I'm on it!" Nino replied, sprinting alongside the Arusians to get to cover… before Alya grabbed him by his collar and dragged him back out.

"Not you!"

* * *

Adrien and Marinette touched down outside of the Akuma ship, the girl still struggling to get free.

"We have to get out of here, Marinette!"

"No! Adrien, let me go! My parents!"

They both stopped their fighting as the rumbling sound suddenly became a lot louder. Looking up, they saw the object closer than it had ever been. It was definitely an Akuma ship... and it was about to crash right on top of them.

"Run!" Adrien yelled, and they both began to sprint as fast as they could as the Akuma ship smashed into the ground behind them. Explosions erupted behind them, and in that moment he knew they weren't going to make it. They couldn't outrun the debris, the flames that would follow.

Marinette seemed to realize the same thing, because she grabbed his hand, turning towards Adrien with tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, this is my fault, I-"

"Don't," He cut her off gently, with a hint. "It's okay. Just listen for a minute-"

"But I need to tell you so much and… there's no time."

The roar of the explosions became louder and louder, and they knew they were running out of time. Each of them felt the desperation build as they looked at the other, knowing they would die without getting to say what they needed too.

There was only one thing to do.

Adrien drew Marinette close to him, tightening his grip on her waist as she brought a hand to his face, thumb stroking his cheek gently.

 _If I'm going to die,_ each of them thought. _I might as well do this first._

Adrien leaned his forehead against hers, working up his courage, knowing this was his last chance. He could feel her breath on his face, her chest heaving as she tried to remain calm.

Marinette could barely breathe, but wouldn't take her eyes off of the boy in front of her. She refused to look at the explosion, the wreckage surrounding them. The last thing she wanted to see was him - not what would kill them.

Hearts pounding out of their chests, they both leaned in, closer and closer and-

Suddenly, they were ripped apart as a final explosion tore through the ground…

Marinette opened her eyes to find herself safely nestled underneath the Ladybug, it's bulky body shielding her from harm.

Adrien opened his to see that he was curled in the paw of the Black Cat, which gripped him tight as the last of the flames died out. The cat released him, and Adrien rolled onto the ground. He immediately jumped to his feet, glancing to his right where the Ladybug mecha stood.

"Marinette, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," She called back, emerging from underneath her mecha. "Our… our mechas saved us!"

"I didn't know they could do that," Adrien said, awestruck. Until he glanced behind them. "Um… Marinette?"

The girl turned around to see where he was looking, and found that the former wreck had been completely obliterated… in its place was a large pod, with Akuma markings all over it.

As they watched, the pod began to unfold, gears creaking as it opened to reveal what could only be described as a giant robot, almost equivalent in size to Miraculous.

It had a triangular head with a singular green eye, the rest of its body pitch black and blocky, glowing with power. On its chest was inscribed the word "Gamer".

The robot seemed to come to life before them, its eye blinking before focusing onto the two paladins.

"Get into your mecha!" Marinette shouted, sprinting towards the Ladybug. Adrien did the same, quickly climbing into the cockpit of the Black Cat.

The Gamer raised its robotic fist, a green orb of electricity fizzling to life in its palm. It launched the orb at the paladins, who quickly dove out of the way as it crushed the ground where their mechas had just been perching.

But it didn't stop there. As the Gamer moved his arm, the orb followed, chasing Marinette and Adrien as they tried to dodge.

The orb came zooming towards Marinette, but she stayed where she was. Charging up the Ladybug's energy, she released a powerful beam of her own… which did nothing to slow down the orb. It crashed into her, sending the Ladybug tumbling into the ground.

The Gamer began to thunder towards the fallen mecha, clearly with the intention of finishing it off. Seeing this, Adrien landed the Black Cat on top of the Gamer's head, scratching at it with his claws in an attempt to make a dent.

The Gamer only reached up, grabbing him with its hands and tossing him down beside Marinette's mecha, where the Black Cat landed with a thud.

It raised the orb to finish them, but was suddenly overcome by lasers being fired from above as the rest of the paladins swooped in to help.

"Lay down some covering fire so they can get out of there!" Alya called.

"I'm on it!" Chloe replied, sending stinging rays of energy towards the Gamer with a fury.

"Check this out!" Nino whooped, the turtle lumbering up behind the Gamer. "Battle-turtle head-butt!" He rammed his mecha into the back of the robot, sending it crashing to its knees.

"You guys okay down there?" Alya called to Marinette and Adrien, whose mechas were now back on their feet.

"Still alive for now." Came Marinette's reply as the two launched their mechas off the ground to join the others in the air. The Gamer began to struggle to its feet.

"Are the Akuma behind this?" Nino asked.

"I think so, but I've never seen anything like it," Marinette replied, trying to size up the situation.

"So, what's the plan?" Chloe interjected. "Shoot at it with everything we've got? Take out its weapon? Call it names?"

"If we want to take this monster down, there's only one way to do it," Marinette told them, voice determined and free from her earlier fear. "Form Miraculous!"

"Yeah!"

The mechas took off, flying higher and higher into the sky until they felt themselves being pulled together, merged by the unmistakable bond of magic that let them become… Miraculous.

They returned to the ground in their newly unified state, ready for battle. Adrien's Black Cat drew its sword as the Gamer became aware of their presence.

"Remember, we are one unit, fighting with one goal." Marinette reminded them.

The Gamer's orb once again fizzled into existence, and the fight began.

Miraculous made the first move, launching itself towards the Gamer, who immediately swung its arm to release the orb. They dodged, and Adrien curled the Black Cat into a fist, driving it into the other robot… only to find that the Gamer had caught his arm, preventing him from landing the punch.

Realizing what had happened, Nino used the Turtle to deliver a swift uppercut the the Gamer's head, sending him reeling from the hit. Launching themselves into the air, Miraculous raised its fists to deliver what they thought would be the final blow… only for the Gamer to block the hit with his arm. They continued to push, sure that the robot would give in… unaware that the Gamer was still controlling the orb from afar, bringing it back towards them.

The Gamer leaped away as the orb slammed into the back of Miraculous, crushing them into the ground. As the orb lifted again, Miraculous scrambled away from where it had crashed as the Gamer sent it flying towards them again.

"I thought Miraculous was the most powerful weapon in the universe!" Nino yelled.

They dodged another attack from the orb.

"Yeah, so how is this monster kicking our butts?" Chloe complained.

They turned to look at the orb that had zoomed past them. The Gamer took advantage, coming up from behind and delivering a powerful punch to their core.

Miraculous was sent flying, crashing down onto a mountain. Raising their head, they could see the Arusian village down below them.

"Oh, no!" Alya groaned. "The village! We have to protect those people!"

* * *

Tikki and Plagg continued to usure the Arusians into a cave, praying that it would be safe enough as they heard the battle rage on, getting closer and closer. After getting everyone inside, the two stood together at the mouth of the cave. They weren't sure that they had any chance of fighting the beast off if it made it to the cave… but they were going to try.

* * *

The orb zoomed once more towards Miraculous, but this time they stood their ground. It slammed into their chest, but they held their stance. They couldn't fall backwards, lest they crush the village beneath them. Finally, they managed to push it away from them, flying out of reach and away from the Arusian homes.

"That was close," Nino mumbled.

"We got him away from the Arusians, but we can't take him down!" Adrien yelled, desperate.

"I got it!" Chloe called. "I'm going to power-kick that orb thing!"

"No!" Alya replied frantically. "The last time you did a kick, we fell!"

"Stop living in the past!" As they launched themselves towards the orb, Chloe extended the bee for a kick… only to miss completely and have the orb hit Miraculous in the face. "Oh, no."

They went crashing to the ground, struggling to get back up as the Gamer charged towards them.

"Nino," Marinette yelled. "Fire lasers, now!"

"Got it!" He replied, slamming his hand on a button. "Fire!" Instead of firing lasers, the turtle formed into a shield. "Oops…"

"No!" Marinette groaned. "Lasers! Lasers!"

They were sent tumbling down again as the Gamer punched Miraculous… and hit again by the orb as the Gamer brought it back to its hand.

"Every time we focus on that orb, we're blindsided by the monster," Alya noted. "And every time we focus on the monster, the orb hits us!"

"Then what do we do, genius?" Chloe yelled as they dodged a blow.

Marinette stared at the robot. There was something awfully familiar about this monster… like she had seen it before.

"Marinette, we gotta move," Adrien called to her. "Marinette, are you there?"

But she couldn't hear him, couldn't hear anything as she was launched into a flashback.

* * *

 _A large arena, with a crowd of thousands rooting against her…_

 _The Gamer, with his powerful orb, standing opposite her as she dodged blows…_

 _The buzzing sound of the orb as it returned to his hand to-_

* * *

"Marinette!"

Adrien's voice snapped her out of her trance-like state.

"That sound... I recognize this monster from my time in Hawkmoth's prison," She told the team. "I know how to beat it!"

They flew out of the way as the Gamer charged them again.

"Listen," Marinette continued, "There's a loud sound when the orb returns to the base of the weapon, and every third time, that orb needs to charge up. That's this monster's weakest point. That's when we strike."

"Okay," Nino replied, "So what do we do in the meantime?"

"Defense!"

* * *

 **A/N - Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)**


	20. Return of the Gamer: Part 4

**A/N - Hey guys, been a while (seems like I say that every chapter)! Thanks for sticking with me! This is the last part of Return of the Gamer, then we will move on to the next section of our story!**

 **Shadows in Dark Skies - I'm so glad you like it! I guess we'll have to see... ;)**

 **Ugly-Duckling123 - I know it has been a while, I'll ask that all of you be patient though. Life is kinda crazy, especially with this being my senior year and college applications being such a huge thing. Fanfic writing is unfortunately not something I can put on my resume. :) Thank you for your continued interest and support.**

* * *

"Okay," Nino replied, "So what do we do in the meantime?"

"Defense!"

The Gamer hurled the orb towards the paladins once more, and Marinette began to sweat.

"Nino, we need that shield!"

Nino complied, bringing the shield up just in time to deflect the orb. The paladins groaned at the impact, which shook Miraculous to the core.

"That's one," Marinette called. "Two more to go!"

She was trying her hardest to focus, but she found herself struggling against memories threatening to overwhelm her.

Miraculous stumbled as the shield took another blow from the orb.

"We can't take much more!" Chloe cried.

"Last one! Everyone brace for impact!"

The orb crashed into the shield, sending it flying from their grip and into the sand as Miraculous sunk to its knees.

The orb returned to the Gamer, beginning to charge on his staff.

"Now!" Marinette yelled.

Adrien lunged them forward, firing off a cataclysmic laser blast that sent the Gamer flying backwards. But before they could celebrate, the creature rose again from the dust, its singular eye casting what seemed to be a murderous gaze.

"It didn't work!" Alya panicked.

"So, now what?" Chloe asked. Even she couldn't conceal her nerves at this point.

Before anyone could respond, the orb crashed into them, sending Miraculous tumbling backwards.

Marinette closed her eyes briefly, before opening them again with newfound determination.

"When I attacked him before, I had a sword!"

"Orb! Orb!" Nino yelled.

They didn't have time to move before being smashed into the dirt again.

"We can't take another shot like that!" Chloe called out.

Adrien moved to reply, but then stopped. He began to feel a pull, a connection to his mecha as the black cat let out a low growl. Something was happening, some sort of communication. From the panel in front of him rose a new device, a place for him to insert his staff… and suddenly he knew what to do.

"Wait a second, guys! I think my mecha is telling me what to do!"

"Well whatever it is, hurry up and do it!" Chloe replied. "He's about to take his third shot."

Before he could act, the orb hit them again. Adrien fell to the floor, and for a minute thought this was the end. But he found the strength to rise as the Gamer moved in for the final blow.

Plunging his staff into the console, Miraculous drew its staff, which morphed into a sword of light as the hurtled towards the Gamer. With one swift motion, they sliced through the robot, leaving it behind them as it dissolved.

The team cheered in unison.

"How did you do that?" Marinette asked in awe.

Adrien just smiled, removing his staff from the console.

"Whoa. Thanks cat."

* * *

Max looked up in a daze, wondering what had happened. One minute he was on the Akuma ship, the next he was here… wherever here was. Within a moment, there were five heroes standing over him.

"Here," Said the one dressed as a ladybug, offering him a hand. "Let us help you."

Max hesitated a moment, but accepted the hand up.

"Who… who are you?"

The team exchanged smiles.

"We're Miraculous, the defenders of the universe."

* * *

"No!" Volpina snarled. "I'll make another, more powerful."

"That won't be necessary," Hawkmoth replied. "Stoneheart is still alive and Akumatized on Arus. I've given him instructions on how to proceed."

"Can he be trusted?" Volpina asked, eyebrow raised.

"I trained him and he has his mission. He fights in the name of Akuma. Only success or death will stop him."

* * *

Stoneheart stood with his Lieutenant gazing at the castle below.

"Hawkmoth has challenged us to rise from the mud and prove our worth. We will not let him down."

"Sir, how are we going to take the Castle with just the two of us and five damaged sentries?"

"By exploiting our enemy's weaknesses." Stoneheart grinned, casting his gaze over the Arusian village.

"What weaknesses?"

"The worst weakness of all. They value the lives of others."

* * *

The paladins helped the last of the aliens they had rescued board a ship.

"Good luck out there." Chloe told them, with what seemed for once to be a genuine smile.

"Thank you all for everything. We never dreamed we'd see our families again. But you gave us hope. You gave the universe hope."

With that, the door closed behind them as the ship took off towards the stars, to return the prisoners to their home planets and families.

Max stepped forward nervously, eyeing his own shuttle.

"You don't have to leave," Alya told him. "You could stay and help out."

"Thank you, really," He replied with a smile. "But I've been away from home long enough. I've got a family too, plus I have so much homework to catch up on!"

They all laughed at that, waving as Max climbed aboard the ship, gleefully directing himself towards home.

Maybe if they were lucky, they'd get to go home too.

* * *

Marinette sat alone outside, eyes closed as she let the sunlight relax her. The memories of her original fight with the Gamer, of hurting Manon, had come back in full.

"Marinette, there you are." She glanced up to see Adrien walking towards her. He sat down beside her. "Are you alright?"

"I figured out why I hurt Manon," She told him with a small smile. "I did it to save her."

"What?"

"My memory of the event came back when we were fighting the monster. My parents were being sent off with the weaker prisoners to a work camp. Meanwhile, Manon and I were forced to fight in the gladiator arena. Manon was going to fight first, but she was scared. We all were."

* * *

" _I'm not going to make it!" Manon cried as she looked at the Gamer. "I'll never see my family again!"_

" _You can do this," Marinette encouraged her quietly, but it was no use._

 _A guard came into the holding area, pointing towards Manon, indicating it was time to go._

 _In that moment, Marinette made a decision._

 _Letting out a feral scream, she charged towards the guard, and ripping the metal baton from his hand and tossing Manon aside in the process_

" _This is my fight!" Hating every minute of the act, she brought the baton down on Manon's leg, before throwing herself on top of the other girl. "I want blood!"_

 _She could see the fear in Manon's eyes, so she let her gaze soften for a moment as the guard grabbed Marinette by the arms._

" _Take care of my parents."_

 _And with that, she was forced into the arena._

* * *

Adrien could hardly believe it.

"You saved her? You attacked her so they would choose you instead."

"I knew it was what I had to do," Marinette replied softly.

"I can tell you really miss them," Adrien told her. "I know they miss you, too."

She smiled, leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Adrien."

Together, they watched the sun set on another day.

* * *

 **A/N -** Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

As always, please leave a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and predictions, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

~ Elizabeth (FanOfDeliciousFlavour)


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